22416 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 But he’s been around longer than that— Times Tuesday September 26: ‘‘But that he was fired from the Los Alamos serving as mayor, vice-mayor, and as a mem- looking back, we also found some laboratory until he was finally charged ber of the city council of Richmond. things that we wish we had done dif- on December 10, 1999. Prior to that, TOM’s business background ferently in the course of the coverage Now suddenly we read in the news- and experience gave him special insight about to give Dr. Lee the full benefit of the papers in September of the year 2000 the problems and challenges faced by small doubt. In those months, we could have that 58 charges leveled against Dr. Wen business. pushed harder to uncover weaknesses Ho Lee were dropped under a plea bar- Obviously, that background and experience in the FBI case against Dr. Lee. Our gain involving the plea of guilty on one is similar to mine. coverage would have been strengthened count only and a pledge to cooperate But that is not the only thing that endears had we moved faster to assess the sci- with the government to disclose why TOM BLILEY to me. entific, technical and investigative as- he did it and how he disposed of the I can truly say, ‘‘I knew him when.’’ sumptions that led the FBI and the De- tapes that he has pled guilty to having He has been a friend for so many years that partment of Energy to connect Dr. Lee taken. It is very strange. I’m not sure I even like to think about how to what is still widely acknowledged to The reason I take this floor to raise long it’s been. have been a major security breach.’’ this issue is not to discuss the inno- As I look back on all the things he’s done, The Times neither imagined the se- cence or guilt of this man. He has al- I realized I first knew him when he was mayor curity breach, as they go on to say, nor ready pleaded guilty. But the one thing of Richmond. did they initiate the case against Dr. that has concerned the Asian American That was 30 years ago. Then he was elect- Wen Ho Lee. But, however, it was the community tremendously is the way ed to Congress in 1980. March 6 article that set the tone for that he was treated after he was finally I was elected just a couple of years later. the coverage against this individual in charged with these various 59 crimes And I can assure you: One of the most re- the ensuing months. and incarcerated. warding parts of this job has been serving and editorial of Suddenly, after he was picked up, he working with TOM. September 26, 2000 goes on to say, ‘‘The became a huge national security risk. We’ve worked on issues ranging from those article, however, had flaws that are Yet, for 9 months, he was allowed to that impacted Virginia to those that impacted more apparent now that the weak- come and go as a free citizen. Only NATO. nesses of the FBI case against Dr. Lee upon his indictment in December of For a couple of young men from Richmond, have surfaced. It did not pay enough 1999 did he become a security risk. I’d say we’ve come a long way. attention to the possibility that there In his plea for bail, release on bail But TOM’s greatest strength, and I hope one had been a major intelligence loss in and other things that came up at that I share, is he never forgot where he came which the Los Alamos was a hearing, it was pointed out by the pros- from. minor player,’’ and perhaps maybe ecutors that he constituted a real risk Serving the people at home was his strong even uninvolved. and that he might transfer the tapes to point, equaled only by being such a great Vir- ‘‘The Times should have moved more unauthorized individuals. The whole ginia gentleman. quickly’’, it said in this article, ‘‘to matter lay in a situation in which, as I am honored that he is my friend. open a second line of reporting, par- one reporter said, that, short of the f ticularly among inside and charges of espionage and naming him a outside the government.’’ spy, that he was incarcerated under ar- INVESTIGATION AND TREATMENT This article is a very unique and in- raignment under very, very serious OF WEN HO LEE teresting attempt on the part of the conditions. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. New York Times to respond to severe It is that level of concern that the MICA). Under the Speaker’s announced criticism that other journalists had Asian community has raised many, policy of January 6, 1999, the gentle- leveled against the New York Times for many questions. They have met with woman from Hawaii (Mrs. MINK) is rec- its March 6, 1999 article. the Attorney General to discuss it and ognized for 60 minutes. But in any event, the ensuing events other officials that will listen to him. Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I that evolved around Dr. Wen Ho Lee is My reason for rising here tonight is take this time to express my deep con- what prompts me to come to the floor that we believe that there was a seri- cerns about the overall unfortunate tonight to speak about this incident. It ous mistake made by the government circumstances that have revolved is very strange that, if there was such in the way that they dealt with Dr. around Wen Ho Lee. an egregious breach of national secu- Wen Ho Lee. There is absolutely no jus- On March 6 of 1999, the New York rity presumably organized and con- tification that he was allowed to be a Times reported that government inves- ducted by Dr. Wen Ho Lee, that it took free person for 9 months if, in fact, the tigators believed that had accel- 9 months to obtain an indictment government had suspicion for at least 3 erated its nuclear weapons program against him, during which time he was or 4 years that something was awry, with the aid of stolen American se- completely free. that the tapes had been missing and he crets. This report, along with other re- At that time, 9 months later, they was under surveillance. ports that came subsequently, led to a charged him with 59 separate felony of- In fact, they had gone to the Justice frenzy of activity. In fact, 2 days after fenses. Thirty-nine counts alleged that Department asking for permission to the March 6, 1999 New York Times re- Dr. Lee violated the Atomic Energy look at his computer and to make de- port, Wen Ho Lee, who was identified, Act because he mishandled material terminations as to whether something was then fired from the laboratory; and containing restricted data with the in- was done that violated the security re- soon after that, he was charged with tent to injure the and strictions of the laboratory, and the the various offenses. with the intent to secure an advantage Justice Department denied the request In September of this year, September to a foreign Nation. Ten counts alleged of the investigators. 26, 2000, the New York Times took the that Dr. Lee unlawfully obtained de- Yet, here on December 10, he was de- very exceptional opportunity to ex- fense information in violation of the nied bail. Out of that denial came this plain the backup of their reporting, law, ten counts of willfully retaining extraordinary disclosure through the going back to March 6, 1999. Although national defense information in viola- family and through his lawyers and they really made no overt apologies for tion of the law. through others who became acquainted the conclusions that they drew in their What safeguards did the government with the nature of his confinement, March 6, 1999 article, it is interesting take to make sure that Dr. Wen Ho Lee that he was kept in a cell, completely to note that they made various obser- did not flee or transfer the tapes to enclosed, maybe 4 feet by 16 feet in di- vations. some individual during those 9 months? mension. The entrance to his cell was First, they said looking back, and I Nothing that I am aware of. He was not the regular bars, but it was a door quote from this article of New York certainly a security risk from the time with a little window. He was kept in

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 October 12, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE 22417 there virtually, except for meals, the Many people are alleging that this lutely shocked at what had happened complete time that he was incarcer- was a racial profiling situation, and to this individual. So he ordered the re- ated, from December 10 until he was re- they are raising all sorts of questions lease. leased on September 20. with respect to why Dr. Lee and not all The release was appealed by the gov- The other egregious thing, besides the other individuals. We know about ernment. The other courts simply dis- being kept in such solitary confine- some very, very difficult cases that are missed the appeal and shortly there- ment for this length of time, because involving high-ranking officials, with after Dr. Lee was released a free man. he constituted a serious security risk extremely important information, and The only requirement is that he not to this Nation, he was kept in chains who took classified information, put leave the country for a year, I believe, whenever he was allowed to go out to that on tapes, and are still, for all that and that he cooperate in a debriefing exercise, which was only 1 hour a day. I know, not under any particular arrest type of contact with the Justice De- He was required to be in chains. His an- warrants or incarcerated or charged for partment in an effort to try to find out kles were chained. His wrists were their conduct. where the tapes are located and what chained. His wrists were chained, They So the people are very, very con- has happened to them. were connected to his waist chains. He cerned. They want to know why his So we have to look back on this situ- was expected to go out into the open bail was denied. Was there really an in- air and exercise under those cir- ation and say, okay, the FBI agents tent here to pressure this particular erred in their anxiety to find this per- cumstances. person to come forward with informa- It is an absolutely inexplicable situa- son guilty of egregious violations tion? Was there a deliberate intent to against the government and to show tion that they had leveled upon him. make his detention so severe that he Many of the people who have looked at that this individual was a deliberate would be forced to cooperate? liar and trying to withhold information this situation, and, indeed, those who The reason why this case really came from the government. But what hap- testified over on the Senate side indi- to its final conclusion, with Wen Ho pens to the FBI agents who perpetrated cated that this was probably done to Lee being released, was that the judge this misstatement to the courts? I hate him in an effort to try to force him to had been told at the final bail hearing to say that these were specific delib- disclose information that led him to that came up in August that the infor- erate lies. They claimed that they were make the tapes and to disclose where mation that the FBI had presented to simply mistakes. But what happens to these tapes were in fact placed. So it the judge back in December was not all these agents that misled the court and was all a matter of trying to intimi- true. As a matter of fact, it came out caused this grievous harm against this date this individual prior to going to in the testimony to the judge in Au- individual insofar as how he was treat- trial, prior to any particular finding of gust that Wen Ho Lee had been told by ed? He was shackled as an animal. specific guilt. the FBI agents that he had flunked the Even when he was allowed to go to see Probably most of the Asians were re- test when in fact he had his lawyers, he was still shackled. It is luctant to speak up, including myself, passed it. This was another incident of an incredible, unbelievable story of in- during this whole tragic event, because the government’s deliberate attempt to humane treatment of an individual we did not quite know exactly the ex- try to force a confession from someone tent to which this individual was actu- under these circumstances. who was constantly saying that he had ally guilty of the 59 charges. not breached the national security of Mr. Speaker, I have letters that have Then out of the clear blue, we find been sent to the U.S. Attorney in New that a judge has, not only condemned the United States. What he had done was probably wrong and contrary to Mexico, Norman C. Bay, making an in- the Justice Department and the Attor- quiry about the conditions of his con- ney General for the mishandling of his the rules, but certainly not anything that constituted a breach of national finement and the responses that were incarceration, but by a plea bargain received. Many, many individuals with the Justice Department, he is to- security. Nowhere in the investigation was the wrote to the Justice Department: the tally exonerated of 58 of the charges, FBI able to show in any context what- American Association for the Advance- pleads guilty to one, and he is a free soever that he had passed any informa- ment of Science sent a letter; the New person, no longer a security threat to York Academy of Science wrote to the the United States, and they still do not tion on to fellow scientists or to for- eign scientists, or that in his travels to Attorney General protesting the harsh know where the tapes are as far as I treatment of Wen Ho Lee; the Human know. China he had breached the security re- quirements of his occupation. They Rights Committee of Scientists; the b 1930 charged him for failure to report con- Episcopal Church of the United States This is an incredible situation that tacts that he had made in his trips, wrote in protest of his harsh treat- we find ourselves in, with one person which were all authorized trips that he ment; the National Academy of being put under such severe personal made to China. He was accused of not Sciences; the National Academy of En- jeopardy before trial, before an abso- having filed reports; yet in the August gineering and the Institute of Medicine lute finding of guilt, and to know that hearing, before the judge, it came out sent a joint letter on June 26 to the At- in the end he was allowed to be a free that he had indeed filed the reports and torney General protesting the severity person. that all of those arguments that had of his confinement; and the Amnesty So the questions have to be raised, I been made in December were simply International on August 16 also sent a think. And many of the people from not true. letter. On August 31, the National the Asian community are asking these The judge had gone along in Decem- Academies protested that in all the let- questions: Was his apprehension in the ber with this harsh treatment of soli- ters they had written, they had failed first place triggered because he was an tary confinement because he believed to get any responses from the Justice Asian? Many people are suggesting that there was here a defendant who Department. that others at the Los Alamos labora- was deliberately trying to obfuscate Mr. Speaker, I will be submitting the tory committed even more serious vio- his actions, had failed to file the nec- letters that I have just mentioned for lations with respect to secret, classi- essary reports that he was required to inclusion in the RECORD. I also will put fied documents, and with respect to the file as an employee of Los Alamos lab- in the RECORD letters that are dated procedures that had been in place as to oratory. And when all of this exploded way back in January of this year from how individuals were supposed to deal in the face of the truth at the August the National Asian Pacific American with security items; yet these people hearing, even the judge made the state- Legal Consortium, writing to the At- were not investigated, were not put ment in his final recommendation for torney General and expressing their through the same extent of inquiry as release of Dr. Lee that he was as- concerns about his detention; as well Dr. Lee was. So we are troubled with tounded that this sort of situation as the Organization of Chinese Ameri- his selective prosecution. could be tolerated, and he was abso- cans and their letters; the National

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22418 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 Asian Pacific American Bar Associa- promised because so much energy and But we ought to make sure that we tion, also writing to the Attorney Gen- effort was put on to the focus of Wen do not forget nor can an agency simply eral about his treatment; and the com- Ho Lee. not answer for their actions. That is ments of Robert S. Vrooman, the I just want to again thank the gen- what has to be done. But I do not think former chief of counterintelligence at tlewoman for taking this time. People that they can investigate themselves Los Alamos regarding specifically his should not look at this case as a case because in fact they were part of the being targeted for confinement. against a Chinese American or an frenzy that took place around the ar- Mr. Speaker, I note that my col- Asian or a person who is a threat to the rest and prosecution and detainment of league from California is here with me, United States. They ought to think of Wen Ho Lee. and I yield to him at this time. this in terms of every American. We So we owe the gentlewoman a debt of Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. understand that this Congress has gratitude for taking this time for put- Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gen- taken action against prosecutors who ting these documents in the RECORD so tlewoman for yielding to me, and have exceeded their authority way be- that the broader public will have ac- thank her very much for taking this yond what can be justified, or the In- cess to them. I want to thank the gen- time and this special order to raise the ternal Revenue Service. And what we tlewoman very much for doing so. concerns that she has. I have been really ought to have, and what I have Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I watching the special order, and I want asked for and written the President thank the gentleman for giving a larg- to tell her how much I appreciate it, and spoken out on this floor for, is er perspective on this. I came to the because I think that the treatment and somehow we need a truly independent floor because so many Asians have ex- the prosecution of Wen Ho Lee and the investigation. pressed a dismay that a situation like manner in which it was handled raises I am afraid that investigation will this could happen in America and serious concerns for every American. have to come from outside of the gov- many of them expressed the belief that Once again we see that when the in- ernment, because the government is so it could only happen to an Asian. That credible power of the government compromised in the manner in which to me is a very damaging aspect to comes down on a single individual, all the investigation was handled by the have this country, so great and so won- too often that individual’s rights are various agencies and by the commit- derful in terms of its definition of de- crushed under the full force. And in tees of this Congress in their rush to mocracy, to have a segment of our this case we saw almost a hysteria that judgment, in their frenzy and their community believe that this occurred ran through the government, through hysteria over this issue. But I would to this one gentleman because he was committees of Congress, within the De- hope that this administration would in Asian and that the outcry did not come partment of Energy and Justice and fact appoint an outside panel of experts until after he was more or less exoner- Defense, in a frenzy to try to prove who can have that , ated. something that they may, in fact, not who can determine what in fact hap- have had the evidence to prove. And in pened here, because the damage runs to The outcry should have been there, doing so, they focused on this indi- our civil liberties. The damage runs to as many of the organizations did, but it vidual, Wen Ho Lee, and then pro- Wen Ho Lee and his family, his reputa- was sort of scuffled. Nobody really paid ceeded over the next 9 months to treat tion; and it also runs to the integrity much attention to it. I agree abso- him in a manner that no American of this body, to our agencies that par- lutely that we have to call for an inves- would want to be treated or have a ticipated in that. The American public tigation, and it cannot be the one that member of their family treated. needs to know what happened there. the Attorney General has told the com- The gentlewoman has recited the lit- Unfortunately, I think the damage munity that she would do. It is simply any of harsh treatments to this elderly also runs to the labs and to our ability not adequate. It has to be taken to a man during his time in solitary con- to recruit. The gentlewoman is aware, different level and a situation where finement, when in fact at the same as I am aware, of what has happened in this whole matter can be reviewed. time the evidence was starting to sug- the Asian community with scientists But it is a terrible thing. The Asian gest that maybe he was not guilty of and others who wonder now if they go community feels burdened with this all that he was charged. This is not to to work for these labs whether they suspicion, and the wreckage of this suggest that perhaps that Wen Ho Lee will be profiled; whether they will be whole incident has sort of fallen on all did not violate rules of protocol and treated differently; are they suspect Asians, not just the Chinese-Ameri- perhaps even security rules. But the because of their travels, because of cans, but all Asians. And so, I truly be- jump from that to that he was one of their family, because of their heritage, lieve that the Congress has to take the most dangerous men in the United because of their culture? some responsibility in this matter and States; that he had transferred the look at it. crown jewels, we now find that what b 1945 The Senate has investigated it, has this was was a lot of prosecutorial hy- And when you see the treatment of called several hearings. And I applaud perbole. They were trying to make this individual, you would be asking them for it. I hope that when we return their case. They were trying to push the same question of yourself if you here next year that we will take the the public to focus in on this individual wanted to determine. And yet, because time to make sure that this kind of because they felt it would solve a prob- of this action, we may be denying this treatment of a human being can never lem. country some of the very best sci- again occur to anyone under our judi- We know that one of the major mis- entists, mathematicians, engineers and cial system. I plead with the Members takes that law enforcement can make others that are available in the world of this House to look at this situation is to focus on a single individual too today who would love to come to work carefully and dispassionately. And if early in an investigation. So now we for the United States and in fact are they do, I believe they will come to the find out 9 months later that not only not any of those suspected things. same conclusion that the gentleman have they dropped all of the charges So I think it has been a real cost to from California (Mr. GEORGE MILLER) with respect to Wen Ho Lee, except for us, to the labs and to our resources and I have come to. one out of 79 counts, but we are no fur- available to work on the kinds of sci- ther along in knowing what happened entific endeavors that so many at the Mr. Speaker, on March 6, 1999 New York to this information and how it got into lab do on a day-to-day basis. So people Times reported that Government investigators the hands of the person who walked ought to understand, this is not just believes China had accelerated its nuclear into our embassy and dropped it on to about Wen Ho Lee. This is the ripples weapons program with the aid of stolen Amer- a table. So in fact not only were his of this case, and how it has been han- ican secrets. rights compromised, but in fact maybe dled go far beyond far beyond this indi- Two days later, Wen Ho Lee was identified the very investigation has been com- vidual and his treatment. and fired.

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 October 12, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE 22419 [From the New York Times, Sept. 26, 2000] Lee. By the time our March 6 article ap- gravity should have been more prominent in THE TIMES AND WEN HO LEE peared, F.B.I. agents had been looking close- the article and in our thinking. On March 6, 1999, The New York Times re- ly into Dr. Lee’s activities for more than Passages of some articles also posed a ported that Government investigators be- three years. A bipartisan congressional com- problem of tone. In place of a tone of jour- lieved China had accelerated its nuclear mittee had already conducted closed hear- nalistic detachment from our sources, we oc- weapons program with the aid of stolen ings and written a secret report unanimously casionally used language that adopted the American secrets. The article said the Fed- concluding that Chinese sense of alarm that was contained in official eral Bureau of Investigation had focused its had harmed American national security, and reports that was being voiced to us by inves- suspicions on a Chinese-American scientist questioning the administration’s vigilance. tigators, members of Congress and adminis- at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Two The White House had been briefed repeatedly tration officials with knowledge of the case. This happened even in an otherwise far- days later, the government announced that on these issues, and the secretary of energy seeing article on June 14, 1999, that laid it had fired a Los Alamos scientist for ‘‘seri- had begun prodding the F.B.I. Dr. Lee had al- out—a half year before the indictment—the ous security violations.’’ Officials identified ready taken a lie detector test; F.B.I. inves- reasons the Justice Department might never the man as Wen Ho Lee. tigators believed that it showed deception Dr. Lee was indicted nine months later on when he was asked whether he had leaked se- be able to prove that Dr. Lee had spied for charges that he had transferred huge crets. China. The article said Dr. Lee ‘‘may be re- amounts of restricted information to an eas- The Times’s stories—echoed and often sponsible for the most damaging espionage of ily accessible computer. Justice Department oversimplified by politicians and other news the post-cold war era.’’ Though it accurately prosecutors persuaded a judge to hold him in organizations—touched off a fierce public de- attributed this characterization to ‘‘officials solitary confinement without bail, saying his bate. At a time when the Clinton administra- and lawmakers, primarily Republicans,’’ release would pose a grave threat to the nu- tion was defending a policy of increased en- such remarks should have been, at a min- clear balance. gagement with China, any suggestion that imum, balanced with the more skeptical views of those who had doubts about the This month the Justice Department set- the White House had not moved swiftly charges against Dr. Lee. tled for a guilty plea to a single count of against a major Chinese espionage operation mishandling secret information. The judge Nevertheless, far from stimulating a witch was politically explosive. hunt, The Times had clearly shown before accused prosecutors of having misled him on But the investigative and political forces the national security threat and having pro- Dr. Lee was even charged that the case were converging on Dr. Lee long before The against him was circumstantial and there- vided inaccurate testimony. Dr. Lee was re- Times began looking into this story. leased on the condition that he cooperate fore weak, and that there were numerous The assertion in our March 6 article that other potential sources for the design of the with the authorities to explain why he the Chinese made a surprising leap in the downloaded the weapons data and what he warhead. miniaturization of nuclear weapons remains There are articles we should have assigned did with it. unchallenged. That concern had previously The Times’s coverage of this case, espe- but did not. We never prepared a full-scale been reported in , profile of Dr. Lee, which might have human- cially the articles published in the first few but without the details provided by The months, attracted criticism from competing ized him and provided some balance. Times in a painstaking narrative that Some other stories we wish we had as- journalists and media critics and from de- showed how various agencies and the White fenders of Dr. Lee, who contended that our signed in those early months include a more House itself had responded to the reported thorough look at the political context of the reporting had stimulated a political frenzy security breach. amounting to a witch hunt. After Dr. Lee’s Chinese weapons debate, in which Repub- The prevailing view within the government licans were eager to score points against the release, the White House, too, blamed the is still that China made its gains with access pressure of coverage in the media, and spe- White House on China; an examination of to valuable information about American nu- cifically The Times, for having propelled an how Dr. Lee’s handling of classified informa- clear weaponry, although the extent to overzealous prosecution by the administra- tion compared with the usual practices in which this espionage helped China is dis- tion’s own Justice Department. the laboratories; a closer look at Notra As a rule, we prefer to let out reporting puted. And while the circle of suspicion has Trulock, the intelligence official at the De- speak for itself. In this extraordinary case, widened greatly, Los Alamos has not been partment of Energy who sounded some of the the outcome of the prosecution and the accu- ruled out as the source of the leak. loudest alarms about Chinese espionage; and sations leveled at this newspaper may have The article, however, had flaws that are an exploration of the various suspects and left many readers with questions about our more apparent now that the weaknesses of leads that federal investigators passed up in coverage. That confusion—and the stakes in- the F.B.I. case against Dr. Lee have surfaced. favor of Dr. Lee. volved, a man’s liberty and reputation—con- It did not pay enough attention to the possi- In those instances where we fell short of vince us that a public accounting is war- bility that there had been a major intel- our standards in our coverage of this story, ranted. ligence loss in which the Los Alamos sci- the blame lies principally with those who di- In the days since the prosecution ended, entist was a minor player, or completely un- rected the coverage, for not raising questions the paper has looked back at the coverage. involved. that occurred to us only later. Nothing in On the whole, we remain proud of work that The Times should have moved more quick- this experience undermines our faith in any brought into the open a major national secu- ly to open a second line of reporting, particu- of our reporters, who remained persistent rity problem of which officials had been larly among scientists inside and outside the and fair-minded in their newsgathering in aware for months, even years. Our review government. The paper did this in the early the face of some fierce attacks. found careful reporting that included exten- summer, and published a comprehensive ar- An enormous amount remains unknown or sive cross-checking and vetting of multiple ticle on Sept. 7, 1999. The article laid out disputed about the case of Dr. Lee and the sources, despite enormous obstacles of offi- even more extensively the evidence that Chi- larger issue of Chinese espionage, including cial secrecy and government efforts to iden- nese espionage had secured the key design why the scientist transferred classified com- tify The Times’s sources. We found articles elements of an American warhead called the puter code to an easily accessible computer that accurately portrayed a debate behind W–88 while showing at the same time that and then tried to hide the fact (a develop- the scenes on the extent and importance of this secret material was available not only ment first reported in The Times), and how Chinese espionage—a debate that now, a year at Los Alamos but ‘‘to hundreds and perhaps the government case evolved. Even the best and a half later, is still going on. We found thousands of individuals scattered through- investigative reporting is performed under clear, precise explanations of complex out the nation’s arms complex.’’ deadline pressure, with the best assessment science. That article, which helped put the charges of information available at the time. We But looking back, we also found some against Dr. Lee in a new perspective, ap- have dispatched a team of reporters, includ- things we wish we had done differently in the peared a full three months before the sci- ing the reporters who broke our first stories, course of the coverage to give Dr. Lee the entist was indicted. to go back to the beginning of these con- full benefit of the doubt. In those months, we Early on, our reporting turned up cautions troversies and do more reporting, drawing on could have pushed harder to uncover weak- that might have led us to that perspective sources and documents that were not pre- nesses in the F.B.I. case against Dr. Lee. Our sooner. For example, the March 6 article viously available. Our coverage of this case coverage would have been strengthened had noted, deep in the text, that the Justice De- is not over. we moved faster to assess the scientific, partment prosecutors did not think they had It took 9 months later to obtain an indict- technical and investigative assumptions that enough evidence against the Los Alamos sci- ment against Wen Ho Lee. It charged him with entist to justify a wiretap on his telephone. led the F.B.I. and the Department of Energy 59 separate felony offenses; 39 counts allege to connect Dr. Lee to what is still widely ac- At the time, the Justice Department refused knowledged to have been a major security to discuss its decision, but the fact that the that Dr. Lee violated the Atomic Energy Act breach. evidence available to the F.B.I. could not because he purportedly mishandled material The Times neither imagined the security overcome the relatively permissive stand- containing restricted data, with the intent to in- breach nor initiated the case against Wen Ho ards for a wiretap in a case of such potential jure the United States, and with the intent to

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22420 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 secure an advantage to a foreign nation; ten suspect in the emerging case of alleged Chi- going to have a retirement . . . If I don’t counts allege that Dr. Lee unlawfully obtained nese espionage. have something that I can tell Washington defense information in violation of 18 U.S.C. & The FBI still wasn’t close to making an ar- as to why you’re failing those , I rest or even beginning an interrogation, but can’t do a thing.’’ 793(c); and ten counts of willfully retaining na- the DOE’s head of counterintelligence, Ed Lee: ‘‘Well I don’t understand.’’ tional defense information in violation of 18 Curran, was reluctant to leave Lee in his FBI special agent: ‘‘I can’t get you your U.S.C. & 793(e). highly sensitive job in the lab’s X-Division, job. I can’t do anything for you, Wen Ho. I What safeguards did the Government take so he ordered the polygraph test. FBI agents can’t stop the newspapers from knocking on to make sure Wen Ho Lee didn’t flee or trans- were standing by during the DOE test, ready your door. I can’t stop the newspapers from fer the tapes? to interrogate Lee if his polygraph answers calling your son. I can’t stop the people from Why wasn’t he a security risk prior to De- proved to be deceptive. polygraphing your wife. I can’t stop some- cember 10, 1999? Lee was asked four espionage-related ques- body from coming and knocking on your door and putting handcuffs on you.’’ Why now in September 2000, 58 charges tions: ‘‘Have you ever committed espionage Lee: ‘‘I don’t know how to handle this case, are dropped for a plea bargain involving only against the United States?’’ I’m an honest person and I’m telling you all one plea of guilty and a pledge to cooperate. Lee’s response: ‘‘No.’’ the truth and you don’t believe it. I, that’s Suddenly Wen Ho Lee is no longer a risk. ‘‘Have you ever provided any classified it.’’ Today Wen Ho Lee is a free man. The tapes weapons data to any unauthorized person? FBI special agent: ‘‘Do you want to go are still missing. Lee’s response: ‘‘No.’’ down in history whether you’re professing I rise tonight to express my great concern ‘‘Here you had any contact with anyone to your innocence like the Rosenbergs to the day that they take you to the electric that hysteria and cover-up were the real rea- commit espionage against the United States?’’ chair?’’ sons for Wen Ho Lee’s indictment. Lee: ‘‘I believe eventually, and I think The managers of our national nuclear labs Lee’s response: ‘‘No.’’ ‘‘Have you ever had personal contact with God, God will make it his judgement.’’ During this time period, Washington offi- had mismanaged the security of these institu- anyone you know who has committed espio- cials began leaking to the media that Lee tions. Access to these secrets was not mon- nage against the United States?’’ had failed his polygraphs, and that he was itored and vast numbers of people could easily Lee’s response: ‘‘No.’’ ‘‘the one’’ who had given to China informa- obtain access without signing in or out. The polygrapher concluded that Lee was tion on America’s most advanced thermo-nu- Wen Ho Lee was queried about this con- not deceptive. Two other polygraphers in the clear warhead, the W–88. A stunning charge DOE’s Albuquerque test center, including tacts in the People’s Republic of China. that, in the end, investigators were unable to the manager, reviewed the charts and con- In 1993–94—Wen Ho Lee was under inves- back up. curred: Lee wasn’t lying. tigation—for knowingly assembling 19 collec- One question at hand is how could the The polygraph results were so convincing exact same polygraph charts be legitimately tions of files, called tape archive (TAR) files, and unequivocal, that sources say the deputy interpreted as ‘‘passing’’ and also ‘‘failing?’’ containing secret and confidential restricted director of the Los Alamos lab issued an CBS News spoke to Richard Keifer, the cur- data relating to atomic weapons research, de- apology to Lee, and work began to get him rent chairman of the American Polygraph sign, construction, and testing. reinstated in the X-Division. Furthermore, Association, who’s a former FBI agent and sources confirm to CBS News that the local The FBI had Wen Ho Lee under investiga- used to run the FBI’s polygraph program. tion for 3 years. Albuquerque FBI office sent a memo to head- Keifer says, ‘‘There are never enough vari- In 1997, the FBI asked for authority to quarters in Washington saying it appeared ables to cause one person to say (a polygraph search Wen Ho Lee’s computer. The Attorney that Lee was not their spy. subject is) deceptive, and one to say he’s General denied this request as But key decision-makers in Washington re- non-deceptive...there should never be mained unconvinced. not justified based on the facts. that kind of discrepancy of the evaluation of Several weeks after the polygraph, the the same chart.’’ The issue is not the prosecution. DOE decided to assign it the unusual des- The issue is why was Wen Ho Lee singled As to how it happened in the Wen Ho Lee ignation of ‘‘incomplete.’’ Officials in Wash- case, Keifer thinks, ‘‘then somebody is mak- out for this witch hunt. ington also ordered a halt to Lee’s re- ing an error.’’ After he was indicted, why was he treated instatement of the X-Division. We asked Keifer to look at Lee’s polygraph as though he was already convicted? When FBI headquarters in Washington fi- scores. He said the scores are ‘‘crystal Why was his request for bail denied? nally obtained the DOE polygraph results clear.’’ In fact, Keifer says, in all his years as Why was his detention so severe? yet another interpretation was offered: that a polygrapher, he had never been able to Was it designed to coerce his cooperation? Lee had failed the polygraph. score anyone so high on the non-deceptive The FBI then did its own testing of Lee, scale. He was at a loss to find any expla- Why did the FBI lie to Wen Ho Lee ‘‘telling and again claimed that he failed. Yet sources him’’ he had failed the polygraph test when in nation for how the FBI could deem the poly- say the FBI didn’t interrogate Lee at this graph scores as ‘‘failing.’’ fact he had passed? A polygraph test was ad- time, or even tell him he had failed the poly- The FBI has not explained how or why it ministered on December 23, 1998, by the De- graph—an odd deviation from procedure for interpreted Lee’s polygraph as deceptive. partment of Energy in . DOE said agents who are taught to immediately ques- When asked for an interview, the FBI simply he unequivocally passed, FBI said failed. The tion anyone who is deceptive in a polygraph. said it would be ‘‘bad’’ to talk about Lee’s FBI then did its own testing of Dr. Lee, and In early March 1999, the FBI did interro- polygraph, and that the case will be handled again claimed he failed, but didn’t tell him that gate Lee. It was the day CBS News broke the in the courts. The prosecution has not story of a soon-to-be-released congressional turned over the charts and many other poly- he failed. CBS News Correspondent Sharyl report on alleged Chinese espionage at the Attkisson for CBSNews.com. graph documents to Lee’s defense team. And labs, and the day before The New York so far, the prosecution has withheld other WEN HO LEE’S PROBLEMATIC POLYGRAPH Times printed an article that described Lee key documents, including the actual charts Three Experts Gave The Nuclear Scientist as a suspect, without using his name. One in- from the DOE polygraph. Passing Scores vestigative source tells CBS News that after Since Lee was never charged with espio- But The FBI Later Reversed The Findings this particular day of questioning, the lead nage (only computer security violations), the CBS Investigation Fuels Argument That FBI agent verbalized that she thought Lee content of the polygraph may be unimpor- He Was A Scapegoat was not the right man. tant to his case. But the fact that his scores (CBS) Wen Ho Lee either passed—or But others still remained unconvinced. apparently morphed from passing to failing failed—his first spy-related polygraph, de- So on March 7, 1999, the day after the New fuels the argument of those who claim the pending upon who was interpreting the re- York Times article, the FBI ordered another government was looking for a scapegoat— sults. interrogation of Lee, this time a someone to blame for the alleged theft of As CBS News Correspondent Sharyl ‘‘confrontational’’ style interview. masses of American top secret nuclear weap- Attkisson reports for CBSNews.com, the test One special agent doing the questioning ons information by China—and that Lee con- was given December 23, 1998 by a Department told Lee no fewer than 30 times that he had veniently filled that role. of Energy (DOE) polygrapher in Albuqerque, failed his polygraphs, and repeatedly de- Why did FBI Agent Robert A. Messemer lie? N.M., where Wen Ho Lee worked as a top se- manded to know why. Here are some selected cret nuclear scientist. Because Lee, a Tai- excerpts: What penalty has he been given? Was his lie wanese-American, had recently been to Tai- FBI special agent: ‘‘You’re never going to perjured testimony? Is he still working for the wan, had visited China in the past, and pur- pass a polygraph. And you’re never going to FBI? Was this a conspiracy within the FBI? portedly had access to America’s top nuclear have a clearance. And you’re not going to Why didn’t the court give Wen Ho Lee the secrets, the FBI focused on him as the prime have a job. And if you get arrested you’re not benefit of the doubt?

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 October 12, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE 22421 Why was he locked in a secure enclosed trial is months away. Excessive, punitive re- threat of disclosure by Dr. Lee, and his cell? Why was he required to wear ankle and straints have been imposed on Dr. Lee while treatment is not regular, particularly in con- wrist shackles when allowed out for his daily he waits for the opportunity to clear his trast with the treatment of others for classi- one hour exercise? name which was smeared by government fied information lapses. Whose idea of ‘‘exercise’’ includes the leaks accusing him of being a spy. When the In national security cases the guide for im- FBI, DOE, and United States Attorney found plementing special detention restrictions words ‘‘while shackled’’? I am told that at the no evidence of spying by Dr. Lee they ration- under Sec. 501.2 is the prevention of disclo- court house while meeting with his lawyers, alized their botched investigation, laced sure of classified information. The restric- even when escorted to the toilet, he was with racism, by bringing criminal charges tions must serve that goal. shackled. against Lee for placing classified informa- Dr. Lee is charged with transferring classi- We are told that the Justice Department ap- tion on non-classified computer tapes. fied information to non-classified tapes at proved this severe treatment—that the Depart- The U.S. Attorney swayed the Albuquerque his workplace, with the illegal intent to ment of Energy requested it— judge to deny bail by conjuring fear that Lee harm the United States or to secure an ad- Attorney General Reno testified on Sep- might somehow spirit the destroyed tapes vantage to a foreign country. He is not tember 28 in the Senate that she was un- and himself abroad. The judge indicated Lee charged with any espionage or spy activity should be released pending trial and sug- aware that Wen Ho Lee was shackled and and there exists no allegation that Dr. Lee gested the U.S. Attorney agree to a poly- transferred or ever attempted to transfer was not in receipt of any complaints. A petition graph examination offered by Lee’s attor- any sensitive information to any unauthor- dated January 4, 2000 was signed by 3,000 neys to verify the tapes were destroyed. The ized recipient. The only ‘‘evidence’’ of the al- people and forwarded to the Attorney General U.S. Attorney insists that Lee must agree to leged criminal intent to harm the U.S. or as- on March 8, and again on June 8, 2000. a polygraph administered by the FBI as well sist another country is his transferring clas- LOS ALAMOS, NM, March 8, 2000. as FBI interrogations before and after the sified information to a non-classified system polygraph. Re: Petition for Independent Polygraph Test at his workplace. You can do something to fight this injus- for Dr. Wen Ho Lee and for Improved Although there are several possible inno- tice. Below is a petition to the U.S. Attorney Conditions of Imprisonment for Dr. Lee cent explanations for such a transfer, your for New Mexico to agree to an independent prosecutors chose to assume mal intent from NORMAN C. BAY, polygraph as well as more humane condi- Dr. Lee’s transfer of work files that included Interim United States Attorney for the District tions for Dr. Wen Ho Lee during his incarcer- some classified material. Their assumption of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. ation. is not well founded. Los Alamos National DEAR MR. BAY: Copies are enclosed of peti- Please clip, sign, and return the petition to Laboratory has thrived as an exemplary sci- tion signatures of over 2000 people seeking me at P.O. Box 1288, Los Alamos, NM. I will entific institution because of its university your agreement to an independent, qualified send the petition to the U.S. Attorney for atmosphere, including its long history of polygraph test for Dr. Wen Ho Lee to con- New Mexico, listing your name with many tacitly disregarding security restrictions firm that the tapes at issue in the bail pro- others who have signed. Or, call me at 662– that impede efforts to achieve scientific and ceeding were destroyed and not copied. 7400, to obtain a copy of the petition. For It is unconscionable that your office has work-related goals. further information see www.wenholee.org. refused to agree to an independent poly- It is imperative to seek accuracy in the na- graph, which was offered by Dr. Lee and his PETITION tional security justifications for causing Dr. counsel. The federal Judge who presided at Petitioners request that the United States Lee to suffer the demeaning and cruel condi- the bail hearing indicated the Court wel- Attorney for the District of New Mexico tions imposed on him. The original harsh de- comes such a polygraph to address the al- agree to an independent polygraph examina- tention conditions were imposed on the basis leged concern of your office that the tapes tion of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, to be administered of conjecture rather than any reality of which Dr. Lee swore he destroyed were in- by a reputable organization not associated threats to national security. At the bail deed destroyed and not copied. The Tenth with the defense or the prosecution in the hearing for Dr. Lee, government witnesses Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the proceeding by the United States against Dr. and prosecutors engaged in preposterous Judge’s reasoning. Confirmation that the Lee, to confirm the status of the seven rhetoric that distorted the nature of the tapes do not exist would verify that concern ‘‘missing’’ tapes at issue in that proceeding. classified information involved and its value over transfer of the tapes is not a roadblock Pending resolution of Dr. Lee’s pre-trial to foreign entities. You have previously re- to the pre-trial release of Dr. Lee. An inde- release, Petitioners request that the United ceived letters sent by premiere scientific or- pendent polygraph on the status of the tapes States Attorney for New Mexico institute ganizations, such as the American Physical presents a straightforward means to allay improved conditions for Dr. Lee during his Society, American Association for the Ad- the government’s alleged fear about Dr. confinement, including increased recreation vancement of Science, Federation of Amer- Lee’s release on reasonable bail pending and visiting opportunities. ican Scientists, New York Academy of trial. The right to reasonable bail is guaran- llllllllllll Sciences, The Committee of Concerned Sci- teed by Amendment VIII of the United (your name) entists, American Chemical Society, Over- States Constitution to all American citizens, Another letter from Cecilia Chang signed by seas Chinese Physical Society, and others, including Dr. Lee. thousands of others were sent to the Attorney protesting Dr. Lee’s treatment and the voo- doo science used to alarm the public. We ask It is not acceptable for the United States General in April 2000. Attorney’s office to deny any American the that you consider these letters in arriving at WENHOLEE.ORG, your decision about Dr. Lee’s detention. opportunity of reasonable bail due to the Fremont, CA, April 10, 2000. possibility that the outcome of the inde- Of particular note is the contrast of Dr. pendent polygraph would weaken the govern- Re: Review of Special Restrictions Imposed Lee’s treatment with that of former CIA Di- ment’s case. Every prosecutor’s first duty is on Dr. Wen Ho Lee rector John Deutch. Handling of the Deutch to achieve justice and fairness, not to con- Hon. JANET RENO, and Lee cases reveals the irregular treat- vict at all cost. U.S. Attorney General, ment of Dr. Lee. Mr. Deutch’s security viola- The Petitioners also seek improved condi- U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC. tions, which went uninvestigated for years, tions for Dr. Lee, who continues to be shack- DEAR MS. RENO: The enclosed petition was exposed the United States to far greater led in prison awaiting trial to clear his signed on behalf of Dr. Wen Ho Lee by 1,288 harm than the security lapses by Dr. Lee. name. The conditions under which Dr. Lee is of Dr. Lee’s fellow American citizens, urging Mr. Deutch made accessible at his home, cur- imprisoned are shameful. No person should that you exercise your authority to release rent and top secret information significantly be subject to such arbitrary and harsh condi- Dr. Lee from the harsh detention conditions more important to national security than tions, especially one who, like Dr. Lee, is imposed at your direction under 28 CFR Sec. the information transferred by Dr. Lee, presumed to be innocent. 501.2. This petition, sponsored by which was not top secret and in fact can be Your immediate response to the request of WenHoLee.Org, also has been endorsed by or- found in the open or developed by other the Petitioners is anticipated. All original ganizations with combined membership of countries such as China on their own. The petition signatures are available for inspec- over 100,000, 106-faculty members from 64 col- actions of Mr. Deutch posed a clear and tion by you or your representative at my of- leges and universities, and many community present threat to national security whereas fice, by appointment. leaders, scientists and elected officials. Dr. Lee’s actions did not. Sincerely, Dr. Lee has spent the past 120 days shack- Nevertheless the only consequence to Mr. PHYLLIS I. HEDGES. led in jail in Santa Fe, New Mexico, awaiting Deutch was loss of a no longer required secu- trial to clear his name. The conditions under rity clearance. Last year Dr. Lee lost his se- FIGHT UNJUST TREATMENT OF DR. WEN HO which Dr. Lee is imprisoned are shameful. curity clearance and with it the ability to LEE! Such arbitrary and harsh detention condi- continue his work at LANL to which he had Dr. Wen Ho Lee continues to be shackled tions are unjustified and should not be ex- dedicated the past 20 years. Then in March as a prisoner in a Sante Fe jail although his tended. there is no factual basis to infer any 1999 Dr. Lee lost his job and his retirement,

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22422 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 consequences unheard of for any security States of America and its citizens, it also pose a grave threat to our national security. violation at the national laboratories. impedes our nation’s efforts to improve In judging the merits of such a serious con- Whereas mishandling of classified informa- human rights conditions to the victims of tention, we hope that you will consult with tion should have been an internal matter for government oppression everywhere else a few of the many informed independent DOE and LANL, on December 10, 1999, the around the world. weapons specialists and national security ex- United States Attorney brought federal Therefore, we, the people of America, ask perts who no longer serve in government, criminal charges that threaten him with life you to do the right thing and free Dr. Lee! and who therefore may provide an objective in prison, made a media display of having The views expressed here are those of the assessment of the risk. Should the Justice him arrested at home, and worked relent- petition sponsor, not of One Democracy.com Department wish to seek such expert coun- lessly to deny bail and any conditions of re- On February 29, 2000 the American Asso- sel, an appropriate source would be the Na- lease. Since December 10, 1999, under your ciation for the Advancement of Science sent tional Academy of Sciences. authority, Dr. Lee has been subjected to in- the Attorney General a letter protesting Wen In sum, we believe it important that the humane conditions during his pre-trial im- Ho Lee’s inhumane treatment in prison at the scientific community be given some assur- prisonment. ances on these issues. Otherwise, we worry The conclusion is inescapable that this Sante Fe County Detention Center. that serious damage could be done to the overblown federal case emerged from the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- U.S. scientific enterprise and to this nation’s false accusations that Dr. Lee was engaged VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, DIREC- future prosperity and security if the govern- in espionage. The FBI has publicly stated the TORATE FOR SCIENCE AND POLICY ment is perceived by scientists as treating ensuing investigation of Dr. Lee was based PROGRAMS, Dr. Lee unfairly and relying on unfounded on racial profiling. The FBI used intimida- Washington, DC, February 29, 2000. claims regarding threats to national secu- tion, threats of execution, and lying, to try Hon. JANET RENO, rity. to force a confession during their interroga- Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Sincerely, tion of Dr. Lee. It can only be inferred that Washington, DC. IRVING A. LERCH, DEAR MADAME ATTORNEY GENERAL: I write Dr. Lee’s cruel treatment reflects bias Chair, AAAS Committee on on behalf of the Committee on Scientific against Dr. Lee, which should not have any Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. Freedom and Responsibility of the American place in the prosecutorial duty to achieve On March 14, 2000 the New York Academy justice and fairness. Association for the Advancement of Science Yours is a critical responsibility to stem concerning the matter of the continued de- of Science wrote to the Attorney General pro- the improper treatment of Dr. Lee, who is nial of bail and the conditions of pre-trial in- testing the harsh treatment of Wen Ho Lee. presumed to be innocent of criminal wrong- carceration of Dr. Wen Ho Lee. The AAAS is MARCH 14, 2000. doing. Continuing the cruel conditions of his the world’s largest multi-disciplinary sci- DEAR ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: I am writ- detention would afflict all American citizens entific organization. The Committee on Sci- ing on behalf of the Committee on Human by diminishing the rights and freedoms we entific Freedom and Responsibility is Rights of Scientists of the New York Acad- cherish. charged by the Association to, among other emy of Sciences. In this we are joining other Sincerely, things, address issues related to the human prominent scientific organizations such as WENHOLEE, ORG rights of scientists. the American Physical Society, the Amer- Our purpose is to inquire into the reasons (By: Cecilia Chang, Executive Director, ican Association for the Advancement of for the extraordinarily restrictive conditions Chair, Steering Committee Wen Ho Lee Science, and the Committee of Concerned to which Dr. Lee has been subjected. Our dis- Defense Fund.) Scientists regarding the condition of deten- quiet with the government’s treatment of tion and the denial of bail for Dr. Wen Ho FREE WEN HO LEE! Dr. Lee does not extend to the issue of his Lee accused of mishandling classified infor- guilt or innocence, which will be decided by Petition Recipients: Janet Reno, U.S. At- mation at the Los Alamos National Labora- our courts on the basis of the evidence. Our torney General; , U.S. Energy tories. At the outset we emphasize that we concern stems from the possibility that Dr. Secretary; Vice President Al Gore. do not take a position on Dr. Lee’s guilt or Petition Sponsored by: Wenholee.org, 3785 Lee is being maltreated and may have been innocence which must be determined at the target of special scrutiny because of his Armour Court, Freemont, CA 94536. trial. ethnic background. For more than 20 years, this Committee TO THE HONORABLE JANET RENO: We, the This case has had an adverse impact on has been deeply concerned about govern- signers of this petition, urge you to take ad- many of our colleagues and could damage mental treatment and repression of sci- vantage of the opportunity afforded you our national labs as a result of the hem- entists throughout the world. Among the under Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regula- orrhaging of skilled scientists through res- cases in which we have intervened were tions to free Dr. Wen Ho Lee from his harsh ignation or attrition, falling recruitment those of Professors Andrel Sakharov, Fang and unjust confinement in the New Mexico and a decline in the international collabora- Li Zhe, Benjamin Levich, and recently jail. tion that are so vital to the success of DoE Alexandr Nikitin, to name just a few. Often Section 501.2 of Title 28 requires you to pe- programs. There is some evidence that such riodically reauthorize Dr. Lee’s confinement. losses are already occurring. the scientists named in these cases were ac- Under this law, you have the power to have Our concerns relate to the following: cused by their governments of violation of Dr. Lee be confined to his home, with all We have been informed that the original secrecy, treason, and other high crimes. Our necessary security precautions imposed at conditions of detention were—and remain— Committee has always paid close attention your discretion. Although Dr. Lee’s move- harsh in the extreme. He is confined to his to the conditions under which these and ment will remain restricted under this ar- cell 23 hours each day and was, until re- other individuals were held during their de- rangement, he will at lest be at home in hu- cently, kept completely indoors. When tention, as well as related matters such as mane conditions. moved about within the confines of the pris- denial of bail, access to counsel, and open- If you do not free Dr. Lee from jail, then on, his arms and legs are shackled. His week- ness and fairness of trial. you must at least order that his conditions ly meetings with family members are cur- It has been reported to us that the condi- of confinement, which have been more fit for tailed and monitored and, early on, he was tions of Dr. Lee’s detention have been harsh. a mass murderer, be significantly improved. required to speak English. He has no access He has been shackled in prison, restricted to The use of shackles on Dr. Lee under any cir- to TV and, at first, was denied newspapers. his cell in isolation, had his meetings with cumstances is ridiculous. While we understand that these conditions immediate family curtailed, and been re- As we make these requests of you, we are now slightly modified, we are concerned stricted about outside information such as would like to remind you that the govern- that continuing restrictions not only serve TV and newspapers. These conditions remind ment authorities already have conceded that as intimidation, but may inhibit his ability us of the abuses that occurred under Com- the targeting of Dr. Lee has been entirely ra- to prepare his defense and place an enormous munist rule in the former and cially motivated and that there is no evi- emotional and physical burden on him, his occur to this day in other totalitarian states dence of espionage by Dr. Lee. Yet, the gov- family and his attorneys. From our perspec- such as in China, Iran, and others. ernment authorities continue to persecute tive, Dr. Lee’s pretrial treatment appears to The impression given to the world by the Dr. Lee, singling him out on the basis of his be exceedingly cruel. Court records and pros- Government’s treatment of Dr. Lee is that race. The authorities’ behavior and action ecution documents give the distinct impres- he has already been found guilty of charges have angered not just Chinese Americans sion that many measures were imposed sim- against him. Witness, for example, the state- across the country—but all Americans who ply because he has Chinese associates and ment repeated by CIA Director believe that no one should be treated on the speaks Chinese. AAAS believes very strongly that Lee’s actions were taken ‘‘with intent basis of his or her race or ethnicity, and that that place of birth or ethnic background to harm the United States.’’ We earnestly discrimination, especially by the govern- should never be used to impugn the loyalty call to your attention that Dr. Lee’s treat- ment, is simply not acceptable! of scientists. ment during his detention has had a seri- Furthermore, the discriminatory persecu- The justification for continued incarcer- ously chilling effect on the scientific com- tion of Dr. Lee not only shames the United ation is that Dr. Lee, if released, is likely to munity, especially because of the suspicion

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that his ethnic background has played some Hon. JANET RENO, rights organization, has written to Attorney role in this treatment and in the unproven Attorney General, Department of Justice, Wash- General Janet Reno to protest the conditions public allegations made about his possible ington, DC. under which Dr. Wen Ho Lee has been held in motives for the acts of which he is accused. DEAR MADAM ATTORNEY GENERAL: We write pre-trial federal detention since December In addition, reliable reports reach us that with regard to our original March 10 inquiry 1999. the recruiting and retention of top scientific to you about the case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee In the Aug. 4 letter, released as Judge staff at our major national laboratories, in- (#99–1417) and to express our appreciation for James A. Parker hears a renewed application cluding weapon laboratories, have been dam- the May 24 response that we received from for Dr. Lee’s release on bail, Amnesty Inter- aged by this affair. We urge that you look Mr. John J. Dion. national expressed concern at reports that The information that Mr. Dion provided into the treatment of Dr. Lee and see to it Dr. Lee has been held in particularly harsh about Dr. Lee’s case was, of course, of inter- that the physical and psychological condi- conditions of solitary confinement, and has est to us. However, because Mr. Dion did not tions of Dr. Lee’s detention conform to the been confined to his cell for 23 hours each address many of the questions that we posed day. According to reports, Dr. Lee has also highest international standards for the hu- in our initial letter of inquiry, we are taking mane treatment of people in detention been shackled at the wrists, waist, and an- the liberty of requesting, once again, infor- kles while taking exercise once or twice a awaiting trial. Continuation of the harsh mation on the conditions and circumstances week in a federal enclosure. Amnesty Inter- treatment of Dr. Lee will expose us to ridi- under which Dr. Lee is being held. Surely, national is insisting that the use of shackles cule when we criticize such treatment in the answers we seek cannot in any way im- be immediately discontinued. other countries around the world. pinge upon the just prosecution of a pending These conditions are unnecessarily puni- The New York Academy of Sciences is an case. independent, non-profit, global membership It is our understanding that Dr. Lee has tive and contravene international human organization committed to advancing been held in solitary confinement since his rights standards, said Curt Goering, Senior science, technology, and society worldwide. arrest on December 10, 1999, that he has been Deputy Executive Director of Amnesty Established in 1817, the Academy is the old- denied bail, and that he will not be brought International USA. The use of shackles is ex- est scientific organization in New York and to trial until November 6. We would like tremely disturbing and is grossly inappro- the third oldest in the nation. It is an inter- your personal assurances that his conditions priate in the circumstances. national organization with nearly 40,000 of confinement have been in full accordance Rule 33 of the United Nations (UN) Stand- members in more than 150 countries. with all U.S. and international standards. ard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides that restraints should be We respectfully await your response in this We have inquired as to what and how much used only when strictly as a precaution matter of importance to this Committee and contact Dr. Lee is permitted to have with his against escape during transfer, on medical to the international scientific community. family, defense counsel, and lawyers. Al- grounds on the direction of the medical offi- Sincerely, though Mr. Dion said in his letter that ar- cer or to prevent damage or injury. The rules JOSEPH L. BIRMAN, rangements have been made to allow Dr. also state that restraints should never be ap- Chairman of the Committee Lee’s family to meet with him ‘‘for more plied as punishment and that chains or irons on Human Rights of Scientists. than one hour per week,’’ he did not say what the new arrangements for Dr. Lee allow shall not be used as restraints. The rules also April 27, 2000 a Resolution passed by the nor did he report with whom he is now al- provide that every prisoner (including pre- Episcopal Church USA was sent to the Attor- lowed to meet. trial detainees) should have at least one hour ney General protesting the harsh treatment of We would also like to know whether, as of suitable exercise in the open air daily. Wen Ho Lee. has been alleged by Dr. Lee’s family, instru- Amnesty International believes that the ments of restraint are being applied to him. overall conditions under which Dr. Lee is de- To: Executive Council, Episcopal Church, If so, what instruments are used, when and tained contravene international standards, USA. for how long are they applied, why, and which require that all persons deprived of From: international and National Concerns under what circumstances? their liberty be treated humanely and with Committee. With regard to the need for a fair and time- respect for their inherent dignity. Amnesty Date: April 27, 2000. ly trial, we seek your personal assurances International is urging the Justice Depart- Subject: Incarceration of Dr. Wen Ho Lee that Dr. Lee’s rights not to be coerced into ment to urgently review Dr. Lee’s conditions (Resolution proposed by Ms. Carole Jan giving a confession and not to be held in a of confinement and ensure that he is being Lee, Member of Executive Council from coercive environment are being fully re- treated in accordance with international San Francisco, California). spected. We would also like to know what ac- standards. Such steps should include provi- cess Dr. Lee’s lawyers are being given to in- Resolved, That the Executive Council meet- sion for adequate exercise and out-of-cell formation needed to adequately prepare his ing in the Diocese of Washington, DC, April time and reasonable contact with the outside defense. world. 27–30, 2000, calls for the humane treatment of You should know that the above questions Dr. Wen Ho Lee, a U.S. citizen, who has been are identical to those that our Academies August 31, 2000 the National Academies under arrest without bail in solitary confine- regularly pose to foreign governments when that had previously written (3 letters) to the At- ment with limited family visits, and that we desire assurances that the rights of our torney General again regarding her failure to these conditions have created grave concern, imprisoned colleagues in other countries are respond to their earlier letters. particularly among the Asian American being fully respected. Surely, we cannot ex- AUGUST 31, 2000. community, of being unduly harsh treatment pect less from our own government. An Open Letter to the U.S. Attorney General along racial lines, a perception for which the We are grateful for your attention and Council has concern given the number of dis- look forward to your reply. Hon. JANET RENO, Attorney General, turbing complex factors in this case, and be Very truly yours, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. it Further BRUCE ALBERTS, DEAR MADAM ATTORNEY GENERAL: We, the Resolved, That this case moves forward in a President, National Academy of Sciences. presidents of the National Academies, along manner that assures that Dr. Lee receives WILLIAM WULF, with our Committee on Human Rights and due process, and be it Further President, National Academy of Engineering. many of our members, are distressed by sev- eral matters which have arisen regarding the Resolved, That this resolution is not in- KENNETH SHINE, case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee and his incarceration tended to speak of the veracity of the very President, Institute of Medicine. during the past eight months. Although we serious charges that have been filed against Finally by mid-July 2000 his conditions of make no claim as to his innocence or guilt, Dr. Lee. confinement were eased. By the last week in he appears to be a victim of unjust treat- (Resolution passed, thirty-five members July he finally was allowed to exercise without ment. present; six abstentions.) ankle shackles. This, his friends conclude, We are writing to you, as the chief law offi- Note: Copies of this resolution will be sent came about because there was another bill cer and legal counsel of our nation, to urge to Attorney General Janet Reno, and to our hearing scheduled on August 16, 2000. Re- you to rectify any wrongs to which Dr. Lee Washington Office. member Judge Parker had asked that the con- has been subjected, and to ensure that he re- (Our Public Policy Network has a mailing finement restrictions be eased. August 16, ceives fair and just treatment from now on. list of over nine thousand names.) 2000 Amnesty International protested to the We also urge that those responsible for any On June 26, 2000 the National Academy of injustice that he has suffered be held ac- Justice Department that Wen Ho Lee’s con- countable. Even more importantly, perhaps, Sciences, National Academy of Engineering finement was in violation of international law. we urge that safeguards be put in place to and Institute of Medicine wrote to the Attorney AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS SOLITARY ensure that, in future, others do not suffer General protesting the severity of Wen Ho CONFINEMENT, SHACKLING OF DR. WEN HO LEE the same plight. Lee’s confinement. WASHINGTON, DC, AUG. 16, 2000.—Amnesty We write publicly because our private let- JUNE 26, 2000. International, the world’s largest human ters of March 10, April 14, and June 26 of this

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22424 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 year with regard to Dr. Lee’s plight have tions and circumstances under which Mr. takes into careful consideration of U.S. Dis- been responded to only by a form letter Lee is being held. Are his conditions of con- trict Judge James Parker’s Memorandum signed by your Acting Chief of the Internal finement in accordance with all U.S. and Opinion and Order and the voluminous bail Security Section. (His letter was not a satis- international standards? We would also like hearing transcripts. factory response to the questions that we to know whether, as has been alleged by Mr. I thank you for taking the time to meet had posed, as we indicated in our follow-up Lee’s family, instruments of restraint have with us, and for the sensitive manner in letter of June 26.) been applied to him. If so, what instruments which you handled and continue to give at- We should perhaps explain that, for more were used, when and for how long were they tention to our concerns. I look forward to than a century, the National Academy of applied, why, and under what circumstances? your reply. Sciences has provided independent, objective With regard to the need for a fair trial, we Sincerely, scientific advice to our nation. By extension would value your assurances that Mr. Lee’s KAREN K. NARASAKI, of its original congressional charter, it es- rights not to be coerced into giving a confes- Executive Director. tablished the National Academy of Engineer- sion and not to be held in a coercive environ- The Honorable ERIC ing, the Institute of Medicine, and the Na- ment are being fully respected. What and HOLDER, tional Research Council. Some 4,800 of our how much contact is Mr. Lee permitted to Deputy Attorney Gen- nation’s most distinguished leaders in have with his family, defense counsel, and eral. science, engineering, medicine, and related lawyers? We would also like to know what YVONNE LEE, fields have been selected by their peers to be access Mr. Lee’s lawyers are being given to U.S. Commission on members of the Academies and the Institute. information needed to adequately prepare Civil Rights. We are concerned that inaccurate and det- his defense. DAPHNE KWOK, rimental testimony by government officials We very much appreciate your attention to Organization of Chi- resulted in Dr. Lee needlessly spending eight our inquiry and look forward to receiving in- nese Americans. months in prison under harsh and question- formation that will help to assure us that all NANCY CHOY, able conditions of confinement. Our assess- reasonable measures are being taken to pro- National Asian Pacific ment appears to have been confirmed by the tect Mr. Lee’s rights, in full accordance with American Bar Asso- recent ruling of Judge James Parker in U.S. and international law. ciation. granting bail to Dr. Lee. Very truly yours, Dr. JOHN YOUNG, The three institutions of which we are BRUCE ALBERTS, Committee of 100. presidents have an active Committee on President, National Human Rights. During the last 25 years this Academy of MEMORANDUM committee has intervened in the name of our Sciences. To: Attorney General Janet Reno. institutions on behalf of hundreds of sci- WILLIAM WULF, From: Karen Narasaki, Executive Director, entific colleagues, around the world, who are President, National NAPALC; Aryani Ong, Staff Attorney. unjustly detained or imprisoned for non- Academy of Engi- Date: January 30, 2000. violently expressing their opinions. The neering. Re: Dr. Wen Ho Lee’s Pretrial Detention. committee writes inquiries and appeals to KENNETH SHINE, Currently, Dr. Lee is being held in prison offending governments and holds them ac- President, Institute of pending trial, having been denied pretrial re- countable for their actions. Although Dr. Medicine. lease. He has been charged with 59 separate Lee has not been detained for expressing his January 30, 2000, the National Asian Pacific counts involving 19 computer files—29 counts opinions, the handling of his case reflects American Legal Consortium wrote to the Attor- of removing and tampering with restricted poorly on the U.S. justice system. The con- data, 10 counts of receiving restricted data, cerns that we have expressed and the ques- ney General expressing concerns about over- 10 counts of gathering national defense infor- tions that we have posed in our letters are zealous prosecution and detention. mation and 10 counts of retaining national identical to those that our Committee on On April 13, 2000, the Organization of Chi- defense information. We understand that he Human Rights regularly poses to foreign nese Americans wrote to Norman Bay, the is being held in custody under solitary con- governments, some of which have had the U.S. Attorney based in Albuquerque, raising finement. He cannot see his family except courtesy to respond. Surely, we cannot ex- questions about his detention. for four hours per month nor receive any pect less from our own government. On August 18, 1999, the National Asian Pa- mail. We’ve also heard reports that he is not Very truly yours, cific American Bar Association wrote to the At- being allowed to speak Chinese to his visi- BRUCE ALBERTS, torney General noting the fact that the FBI had tors. President, National not investigated the other prime suspects. It I. DR. LEE HAS FACED HARSH TREATMENT THAT Academy of IS DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE EVIDENCE OF noted the comments of Robert S. Vrooman, Sciences. WRONGDOING WM. A. WULF, former Chief of Counter-Intelligence at Los Al- Many in the Asian American community President, National amos who said Wen Ho Lee was targeted be- believe that the prosecution has been over- Academy of Engi- cause he was Chinese. zealous in their treatment of Dr. Lee, given neering. JANUARY 30, 2000. the evidence presented at the detention hear- KENNETH I. SHINE, Re: Dr. Wen Ho Lee ing and what has been reported in the news. President, Institute of Hon. JANET RENO, They are convinced that federal investiga- Medicine. Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, tors used racial profiling in the initial tar- Washington, DC. geting of Dr. Lee. They also believe that the TEXT OF THE FIRST LETTER FROM THE PRESI- DEAR MADAM ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Department of Energy and others involved DENTS OF THE 3 NATIONAL ACADEMIES TO Per our meeting January 12, 2000, I am en- are acting so harshly due to embarrassment JANET RENO closing a memorandum discussing the Asian from the congressional attacks, the reported MARCH 10, 2000. Pacific American community’s concerns bungling of the initial investigation and the Hon. JANET RENO, that we raised with you and Deputy Attor- failure to find evidence of espionage after Attorney General, ney General Eric Holder concerning the pros- the investigation was leaked. U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. ecution of Dr. Wen Ho Lee. We don’t seek to Many community leaders believe that DEAR MADAM ATTORNEY GENERAL: We write argue about Dr. Lee’s guilt or innocence, but prosecutors have been overstating the secu- to inquire about the status of the case (#99– instead to focus on his treatment. It appears rity risk to create a hostile public environ- 1417) of a physicist, former Los Alamos Na- to the Asian American community, indeed to ment so that he will be tried based on the tional Laboratory employee Wen Ho Lee. It many concerned about issues of civil lib- perception of espionage, despite the fact that is our understanding that Mr. Lee is charged erties and due process, that some of the pros- there is insufficient evidence to even bring with 59 felony counts under statutes 42 USC ecution’s decisions have been overzealous— such a charge. He is being treated as though 2275, 2276 and 18 USC 793 (c&e). He is cur- perhaps out of embarrassment because of the there is overwhelming evidence of espionage rently being held without bail in Albu- many media reports about how the inves- even though the detention hearing revealed querque, New Mexico, pending trial. tigation was handled. no such evidence. Without such evidence, the The purpose of this letter is to inquire We are concerned that the intense media community believes that pretrial detention about several matters related to Mr. Lees scrutiny and high political stakes involved in solitary confinement is not warranted. case, as well as to request your assurances in his case may be compromising Dr. Lee’s Solitary confinement seems to have no basis that his rights are being full respected. due process rights and civil liberties as an except to impose psychological stress on the In view of recent allegations in the press American citizen and bringing the loyalties defendant so that he will not be able to pur- with regard to Mr. Lees treatment, we would of the nation’s Asian Pacific Americans sue the vigorous defense to which he is enti- appreciate being informed as to the condi- under a cloud of suspicion. Our analysis tled.

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A. DENIAL OF PRE-TRIAL RELEASE the fact that the seven portable tapes are as severe restrictions imposed on Dr. Lee. We Where the statutory scheme 18 U.S.C. § 3142 missing and that Dr. Lee has the cognitive also urge the Government to carefully con- generally favors the defendant, Dr. Lee none- ability to potentially assist a third party in sider the offer by Dr. Lee’s attorneys to have theless was denied bail. While we respect the using the codes. Based on a single witness, Dr. Lee undergo a polygraph test so that judge’s decision, we are concerned that he they persuaded the Court to view Dr. Lee’s Court may reevaluate any changed cir- was provided with characterizations of Dr. actions in the most damaging light possible, cumstances that warrant his pretrial release. Lee as a Chinese spy that are not substan- using words such as ‘‘devious,’’ ‘‘nefarious,’’ II. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SHOULD BE tiated by the evidence and that influenced and ‘‘secretive and deceptive.’’ PARTICULARLY CIRCUMSPECT GIVEN THE PO- his decision not to consider alternative con- Without doubt, we too find Dr. Lee’s ac- LITICAL NATURE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES SUR- tions very grave. We do not condone any em- ditions for release. For many in the Asian ROUNDING DR. LEE’S PROSECUTION ployee who breaches security rules, espe- community, it bears a potential resemblance The Asian American community has been to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold cially when sensitive defense information such as nuclear weapons designs is involved. carefully monitoring the developments of the internment of Japanese Americans be- Dr. Lee’s situation because they are con- cause the threat to national security was However, we also are guided by the evidence presented and the presumption of innocence cerned that political forces may be playing overstated by government attorneys who de- an inappropriately significant role in the in- stroyed evidence that undercut the argu- until proven guilty in our justice system. Dr. Lee faces very serious criminal vestigation and prosecution of Dr. Lee. The ment. While we are certainly not charging media, initially led by The New York Times the Department of Justice with such mis- charges, but he has not had his day in court. Meanwhile, he is being held in custody as if recklessly portrayed Dr. Lee as a Chinese conduct here, we do believe that Korematsu v. spy. The Cox House Committee Report, later U.S., 323 U.S. 214 (1944), Hirabayashi v. U.S., he posed a threat of heinous violence to the community. We particularly are concerned criticized for serious inaccuracies by the 320 U.S. 81 (1943), and Yasui v. U.S., 320 U.S. Rudman Report and esteemed Stanford Uni- 115 (1943) are cases instructive of how much that despite many alternatives that have versity researchers, took advantage of the more careful we must be when national secu- been in practice by other courts, i.e., house opportunity to embarrass the Administra- rity threats are being claimed as a basis for arrest, electronic monitoring, supervision by tion by fanning fears about Communist unfair and harsh treatment. a third-party custodian, visitation by court- Under § 3142(b), the judge ‘‘shall order the approved persons and consent to unan- China. Given Dr. Lee’s ethnic background, the pretrial release’’ of a defendant to ‘‘subject nounced searches, the Government chose the community was concerned that he was inves- to the least restrictive further condition.’’ harshest alternative for a nonviolent offense. tigated on the basis of his ethnic back- According to Judge Parker, no alternative The Court uses a four-part test to deter- ground. Former FBI counterintelligence offi- conditions would save against the ‘‘danger’’ mine whether there are conditions of release posed by Dr. Lee’s ‘‘ability to communicate that will reasonably assure a defendant’s ap- cers reporting to the media that they be- with unauthorized persons while under house pearance and the safety of the community. lieved racial profiling occurred in Dr. Lee’s arrest.’’ We find that the evidence shows the fol- case validated their concerns. Further re- We are concerned with the suggestive na- lowing: (1) Dr. Lee was not charged with ports that in fact the Chinese government ture of this assertion because there is no evi- committing a violent act or dealing with could have gained the information from dence that shows that Dr. Lee transferred drugs; (2) no direct evidence exists to prove other sources and that Dr. Lee’s laboratory any classified information to an unauthor- that Dr. Lee had the intent to injure the probably could not have been the source for ized third party nor ever attempted to com- United States or procure an unfair advan- the design information have added to the mit such act. Moreover, the Government has tage to a foreign nation; (3) Dr. Lee has community’s alarm. not provided any direct evidence of Dr. Lee’s strong community ties and no past criminal While the community does not condone Dr. intent to use classified information to injure record; and, (4) he has not acted in a manner Lee’s egregious mishandling of classified in- the United States nor procure unfair advan- to suggest that he poses a danger to society; formation, they fear that Dr. Lee is vulner- tage to a foreign nature. Yet, the charges there is no evidence that he attempted to able to being used as a scapegoat to take at- brought against Dr. Lee make this assertion, transfer or transferred classified information tention from the embarrassing wealth of se- and while espionage is not expressly among to an unauthorized third party nor that he curity lapses that the Energy Department them, the specter of espionage is raised assisted any person with the use of the clas- has allowed to occur. In its efforts to over- throughout the detention hearing and promi- sified information. Yet, despite the evidence, come the series of embarrassing disclosures nently figures into the judge’s rationale for Dr. Lee been denied one of the most sacred and to look tough on security, the Depart- denying a pretrial release. guarantees by our Constitution—his free- ment of Energy may not be acting fairly or What the evidence does show is that Dr. dom. providing prosecutors with full disclosure. Lee has been the target of an investigation Judge James Parker indicated that he The Asian American community is con- since 1995 for the possible theft of W–88 data would be willing to revisit the issue of pre- cerned that Dr. Lee’s due process rights may theft, which he has been cleared for over a trial release if Dr. Lee could satisfactorily fall victim to political scapegoating and that year. In March 1999, he was placed under 24- account for the missing seven tapes. We en- negative repercussions for other Asian Amer- hour secret surveillance for nine months, yet courage the Government to work with Dr. icans working in science and technology may during that time, the FBI acquired no evi- Lee’s attorneys on Dr. Lee’s offer to take a follow if a pattern of disregard for civil lib- dence showing that Dr. Lee attempted to polygraph test as to the disposition of the erties is established in this case. transfer or transferred classified information tapes so that they can move forward on dis- to any unauthorized third party. Instead, cussing alternative conditions of release. NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC they found six tapes in his office, and re- B. IMPOSITION OF THE HARSHEST RESTRICTIONS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, ceived an offer from Dr. Lee to take a poly- DURING DETAINMENT Washington, DC, August 18, 1999. graph test to determine the truthfulness of Dr. Lee has been placed under solitary con- Hon. JANET RENO, his statement to the FBI regarding the seven finement and restricted from family visits Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, missing tapes. The Government rejected the except for four hours per month. While the Washington, DC. offer, but used his inability to produce the prison warden may have the discretionary DEAR MS. RENO: We are writing to express missing tapes as the rationale for holding authority regarding at least visitation, we our deep concern about recent accounts that him without bail. This places Dr. Lee in the believe that the Government can weigh on race may have played a significant factor in untenable position of producing tapes that the conditions imposed on Dr. Lee’s confine- pursuing the investigation of Dr. Wen Ho Lee he says has been destroyed or proving they ment. for alleged espionage. While we do not con- no longer exist. How can he be expected to We are concerned about reports from the done acts of espionage or any other illegal prove they no longer exist? media and the detention hearing transcripts activity by any individual, we ask that you Furthermore, even though Dr. Lee is not that the FBI have been employing psycho- ensure that race is not now a factor as you charged with espionage, the Govenrment logical tactics to pressure Dr. Lee to ‘‘con- make decisions regarding this and other in- strongly inferred the allegation during the fess’’ to wrongdoings or to break down his vestigations and prosecutions involving se- detention hearings. We are concerned that will to go through a trial. The Asian Amer- curity violations at Los Alamos and other Dr. Lee’s contacts with Chinese scientists ican community does not understand the na- national laboratories. and government officials are depicted as bad tional interest in placing harsh restrictions According to Senators Fred Thompson and acts in and of themselves when the evidence on a defendant who has been been proven Joseph Lieberman in a statement issued on shows otherwise. Dr. Lee’s trips to China guilty. In fact, Dr. Lee’s treatment in jail August 5, 1999, the Department of Energy were authorized by the Los Alamos National only has strengthened the majority view of and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had Laboratories and his scientific collabora- the Asian Pacific American community that multiple suspects for leaks of nuclear war- tions with the Chinese were encouraged by the Government has selectively and unfairly head information and yet only two—Dr. Lee the Secretary of the Department of Energy. investigated and prosecuted Dr. Lee. and his wife—were investigated. Because the The Government successfully argued that Judge Parker urged the Government to DOE and FBI investigators failed to look Dr. Lee is a national security risk based on consider loosening what he himself described into the other suspects ‘‘—that is, to assess

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22426 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 whether these others were not for some rea- Since Dr. Lee’s incarceration in December Chinese hydrocodes during his travel in 1986 son equally suspicious—meant that it was of 1999, the community has been very con- and 1988. His allegation that I did so is false. impossible to be sure that the Lees really did cerned about the fact that he has not been Our April 28, 1999 meeting focused on stand out as the prime suspects.’’ (Thomp- granted bail until his trial. One of the ques- [approx, one line deleted] and Agent son/Lieberman Report p. 18.) This account is tions we have is what are the conditions, if Messemer’s theory that there was something further buttressed by recent statements any, must Dr. Lee meet in order for him to inappropriate going on [words deleted]. I at- made by Robert S. Vrooman, former chief of be released on bail? tended that interview solely as a favor to Counter-Intelligence at the Los Alamos Na- As a follow up to our conversation, we John Browne, the director of Los Alamos Na- tional Laboratory. Mr. Vrooman stated that wanted to ask specific questions about Dr. tional Laboratory. When it was over, I told Dr. Lee was targeted for investigation main- Lee’s incarceration. Browne that I considered the interview ly because of his ethnicity, and that there is We understand that Dr. Lee has been strange, because it had nothing to do with no evidence that Dr. Lee leaked secrets to charged with mishandling classified data. A the Lee case. I later learned from officials at China. Mr. Vrooman noted that at least 13 concern of the community is that since Dr. the CIA that Agent Messemer was falsely in- Caucasian scientists from Los Alamos ‘‘who Lee has not been charged with espionage forming CIA officials that I had been critical went to the same [physics] institute and vis- then why is he being treated as if he has been [word(s) deleted]. At the time, Agent ited the same people’’ as Dr. Lee were left charged with espionage? As someone charged Messemer was attempting to shift blame to out of the investigation. with a nonviolent act, the community be- the CIA for possible fallout [words deleted]. I Furthermore, both the Thompson/ lieves Dr. Lee should be treated like those sought to obtain a copy of Agency Lieberman Statement and Mr. Vrooman charged with other nonviolent ‘‘white col- Messemer’s memoranda of my interview and noted that key technical information con- lar’’ offenses. to have it corrected. See Attachment one. The cerning certain weapons, whose acquisition We have heard the following: FBI refused to provide me a copy of this by the Chinese government initiated the in- Dr. Lee is in ‘‘solitary confinement.’’ memorandum, which I expect contains false vestigation of Mr. Lee, was available to nu- Dr. Lee is ‘‘shackled’’ all day. information. merous government and military entities Dr. Lee’s ankles and wrists are shackled 3. Agent Messemer’s statement that the in- that could have been the source of the leaked when he is moved within the jail facility, dividuals selected for investigation was cho- information. even during his one hour of exercise, and sen because they fit ‘‘matrix’’ based on ac- While we recognize that Mr. Vrooman’s unremoved during weekly meetings with his cess to W–88 information and travel to the statements will be subject to debate, we be- family. PRC is false. Dozens of individuals who share lieve that it is important that you verify No collect calls to any outside party are those characteristics were not chosen for in- that no ‘‘racial profiling’’ occurred in this allowed except to his counsel. vestigation. As I explained in my prior dec- investigation. Additionally, we would like to Kept separate from other prisoners during laration, it is my firm belief that the actual request a meeting with you to discuss these one hour long exercise. reason Dr. Lee was selected for investigation issues. In the meantime, we ask that as you Dr. Lee is only allowed one hour outside of was because he made a call to another person continue your investigation of security leaks his jail cell for exercise per day, but not al- who was under investigation in spite of the at our national laboratories, you do so with ways outside under the sunlight. fact that he assisted the FBI in this case. It a heightened consideration for fairness. Dr. Lee is not allowed to read newspapers, is my opinion that the failure to look at the Sincerely, magazines, books. rest of the population is because Lee is eth- NANCY CHOY, Dr. Lee is not allowed to watch TV. nic Chinese. Executive Director, We would greatly appreciate your response 4. Mr. Moore’s contention that the Chinese National Asian Pa- to these points as soon as possible so that we target ethnically Chinese individuals to the cific American Bar may accurately respond to the inquiries exclusion of others, therefore making it ra- Association. from our community about Dr. Lee’s con- tional to focus investigations on such indi- DAPHNE KWOK, finement. Thank you very much. viduals was not borne out by our experience Executive Director, Sincerely, at Los Alamos, which was the critical con- Organization of Chi- DAPHNE KWOK, text for this investigation. It was our experi- nese Americans. Executive Director, ence that Chinese intelligence officials con- JIN SOOK LEE, Organization of Chi- tacted everyone from the laboratories with a Executive Director, nese Americans. nuclear weapons background who visited Asian Pacific Amer- NANCY CHOY, China for information, regardless of their ican Labor Alliance, Executive Director, ethnicity. I am unaware of any empirical AFL–CIO. National Asian Pa- data that would support any inference that JON MELEGRITO, cific, American Bar an American citizen born in would be Executive Director, Association. more likely than any other American citizen National Federation ARYANI ONG, [deletion]. of Filipino American Staff Attorney, Na- 5. Of the twelve people ultimately chosen Associations. tional Asian Pacific for the short list on which the investigation DEBASISH MISHRA, American, Legal focused, some had no access at all to W–88 in- Executive Director, Consortium. formation, and one did not have a security India Abroad Center JIN SOOK LEE, clearance, but this individuals is ethnically for Political Aware- Executive Director, Chinese. I do not believe this was a coinci- ness. Asian Pacific Amer- dence. Further, this ethnically Chinese indi- KAREN NARASAKI, ican, Labor Alliance, vidual did not fall within the ‘‘matrix’’ Executive Director, AFL–CIO. which Agent Messemer claims was used by National Asian Pa- KRISTINE MINAMI, the DOE and FBI. In addition, although cific American Legal Washington, D.C. there were other names on the HI list, Mr. Consortium. Representative, Jap- Trulock made clear that Dr. Lee was his pri- anese American Citi- mary suspect. ORGANIZATION OF zens League. 6. Agent Messemer deliberately CHINESE AMERICANS, INC., mischaracterizes the nature of my comments Washington, DC, April 13, 2000. DECLARATION OF ROBERT VROOMAN to him regarding my concerns about Dr. Mr. NORMAN BAY, I, Robert Vrooman, do hereby declare and Lee’s travel to the PRC. I did consider it un- U.S. Attorney, Albuquerque, NM. state: usual that Dr. Lee had not reported any con- DEAR MR. BAY: Thank you very much for 1. I have reviewed the government’s re- tact by Chinese agents when I debriefed him meeting with us last week. The Asian Pacific sponse to Wen Ho Lee’s Motion for Discovery following his return from the PRC. I did not American community nationwide has been of Materials Related to Selective Prosecu- believe then and I do not believe now that monitoring the Wen Ho Lee case for over a tion, including the attached Declaration of Dr. Lee engaged in espionage, and I made no year. The community has been concerned Special Agent Robert Messemer. As set out such intimation to Agent Messemer. Dr. Lee with the public discourse and media stereo- below, Agent Messsemer’s declaration con- and his wife Sylvia were both cooperating types arising from the case that insinuate all tains numerous false statements. Based on with FBI investigations, and I considered Asian Pacific Americans as disloyal for- my experiences with Agent Messemer and them loyal Americans. Nonetheless, I consid- eigners. With regard to Dr. Lee, the commu- the information I have received from other ered Dr. Lee naive, and therefore a potential nity is wondering whether he has been ac- FBI agents, I believe that the regularly dis- security risk. It was to keep Dr. Lee out of corded his due process rights as an American torts information. harm’s way, not because I had any fear that citizen during the investigation and decision 2. I did not tell Agent Messemer that Lee he might knowingly engage in improper con- making to prosecute him. probably assisted the Chinese by helping fix duct, that I recommended against further

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 October 12, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE 22427 unescorted trips out of the country for Dr. the decision to prosecute him. Like you, I present for several meetings so that Dr. Lee. am very disturbed by news accounts sug- Lee’s family can speak with him in his na- 7. My concerns about the real motivation gesting that Dr. Lee has been singled out for tive language. We will continue to make the behind the investigation were exacerbated investigation and prosecution because of his interpreter available as often as possible. when I received a classified intelligence ethnicity. Let me assure you that this is not Furthermore, we have arranged with the briefing from Dr. Thomas Cook, an intel- the way the Department of Justice or the prison facility to allow Dr. Lee’s family to ligence analysis at LANL, in September 1999. Criminal Division operates. To render a deci- meet with Dr. Lee for more than one hour This briefing put to rest any concerns that I sion on a potential prosecution on the basis per week. may have had that Dr. Lee helped the Chi- of race or ethnicity, even in part, would vio- Thank you for taking the time to write to nese in any substantial manner. late the Department’s ethical canons, as well express your views. 8. In my capacity as a counterintelligence as my own personal beliefs. Sincerely, investigator at LANL, I was brief on the ex- As you may know, Dr. Lee was ordered to JOHN J. DION, istence of an investigation code-named ‘‘Buf- be detained pending trial by United States Acting Chief, Internal Security Section. falo Slaughter’’ some time in the late 1980s Magistrate Judge Svet and, thereafter, by involving a non-Chinese individual working United States District Judge Parker, who At the request of the members of its Social at DOE laboratory who transferred classified heard extensive testimony and legal argu- Concerns Committee, the Congregation of information to a foreign country. That indi- ment. On February 29, 2000, a three-judge the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos met in vidual was granted full immunity in return panel of the United States Court of Appeals a Congressional Meeting on Friday, August for agreeing to a full debriefing on the infor- for the Tenth Circuit unanimously affirmed 4, 2000 and, after a more than two-hour de- mation that he passed. [Approx. six lines de- Judge Parker’s decision. bate, passed the following resolution con- leted]. With regard to the conditions of Dr. Lee’s cerning the pretrial treatment of Dr. Wen Ho 9. The statements contained in my Dec- incarceration, I am advised that the limita- Lee. The resolution was passed by an affirm- laration dated June 22, 2000 are true and cor- tions on visits by his family are the same as ative vote of 97% of those voting. rect and I so attest. those for other similarly-situated prisoners RICHARD K. COOPER, I declare under penalty of perjury of the at the facility where Dr. Lee is being held. President, Unitarian Church of Los Alamos. laws of the United States that the foregoing We have, however, been able to accommo- RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CIVIL RIGHTS FOR is true and correct. Executed August 10, 2000, date the Lee family recently by arranging DR. WEN HO LEE at Gallatin Gateway, Montana. for a Mandarin language interpreter to be August 4, 2000 [signed] present for several meetings so that Dr. WHEREAS, Dr. Wen Ho Lee, an American ROBERT VROOMAN. Lee’s family can speak with him in his na- citizen, was arrested in December 1999 and [Attachment one] tive language. We will continue to make the charged in a 59-count indictment with trans- SEPTEMBER 17, 1999. interpreter available as often as possible. ferring nuclear weapons data to an unse- ROBERT S. VROOMAN, Furthermore, we have arranged with the cured computer and portable storage sys- P.O. Box 348, Gallatin Gateway, MT. prison facility to allow Dr. Lee’s family to tems in violation of federal laws; DAVID V. KITCHEN, meet with Dr. Lee for more than one hour WHEREAS, Dr. Lee is not charged with es- Special Agent in Charge, FBI 415 Silver SW, per week. pionage; Albuquerque, NM. Thank you for taking the time to write to WHEREAS, as documented in the tran- DEAR MR. KITCHEN: I would like to have a express your views. script of the FBI interrogation, FBI agents copy of the 302 prepared by S.A. Robert Sincerely, lied to Dr. Lee about the results of a poly- Messemer as a result of his interview with JOHN J. DION, graph test which he passed, and threatened me on April 28, 1999. Several members of the Acting Chief, Internal Security Section. his life and his family in an effort to force CIA’s IG office have read me portions [of] Dr. Lee to confess to espionage; Messemer’s report, and it is clear to me that U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WHEREAS, while awaiting trial set for No- SA Messemer attributed his opinions to me. CRIMINAL DIVISION, vember, 2000, and presumed innocent, Dr. Lee During the interview, I told SA Messemer Washington, DC, April 21, 2000. has been denied bail, jailed in solitary con- that I did not know [deletion] well enough to Mr. PHYLLIS HEDGES, finement, and subjected to harsh and cruel have an opinion [deletion]. He then provided P.O. Box 1288, Los Alamos, NM. conditions which include the following: me with the details and asked me to specu- DEAR MR. HEDGES: This is in response to Dr. Lee is in chains, shackled hands and late on the implications. I find this interview your letter to the Department of Justice feet whenever he is taken from his solitary technique objectionable. concerning the prosecution of Wen Ho Lee. cell; he is chained during his one hour per On the other hand, SA Messemer did pro- Although I am not able to comment in detail week visit with immediate family so that he vide me with a lot of details regarding Dr. about a pending case, I hope you will find the must shuffle and awkwardly lean to activate Lee that I did not know. This helped to solid- following information useful. the intercom with manacled hands in order ify my opinions on the case and to have the This prosecution is based solely on the to speak through glass (however, during a confidence to go public. I learned during the facts and the law. Dr. Lee’s Chinese heritage mid-July visit his handcuffs were removed) meeting with SA Messemer that Dr. Lee and ancestry played no role whatsoever in while two FBI agents monitor and censor [Approx. one line deleted]. SA Messemer was the decision to prosecute him. Like you, I each word; Dr. Lee remains in ankle chains particularly helpful to us when he provided am very disturbed by news accounts sug- when working with his lawyers behind triple us a copy of Mr. Bruno’s April 15, 1997 memo- gesting that Dr. Lee has been singled out for locked doors in a windowless room in a se- randum to Notra Trulock thus allowing us to investigation and prosecution because of his cured facility; defend our decision to keep Dr. Lee in his ethnicity. Let me assure you that this is not Dr. Lee is not allowed any exercise, fresh job. For this I am grateful to SA Messemer, the way the Department of Justice or the air, or showers on weekends; the one hour of but I still object to his using me to promote Criminal Division operates. To render a deci- exercise weekdays he spends alone, and until his opinions. sion on a potential prosecution on the basis recently in shackles, and he must forego any I am planning to write a book on my expe- of race or ethnicity, even in part, would vio- exercise or fresh air on days he meets his at- riences and would like to have the 302 as late the Department’s ethical canons, as well torneys to prepare for trial; Dr. Lee’s tele- soon as possible. as my own personal beliefs. phone calls are extremely limited, censored Sincerely yours, As you may know, Dr. Lee was ordered to and transcribed; he is allowed no television ROBERT S. VROOMAN. be detained pending trial by United States and limited reading material; his mail is de- Magistrate Judge Svet and, thereafter, by layed by months; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, United States District Judge Parker, who AND WHEREAS, in protest of the treat- CRIMINAL DIVISION, heard extensive testimony and legal argu- ment of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, is far more severe Washington, DC, March 29, 2000. ment. On February 29, 2000, a three-judge than needed to assure security, numerous or- Mr. PHYLLIS HEDGES, panel of the United States Court of Appeals ganizations and individuals have adopted P.O. Box 1288, Los Alamos, NM. for the Tenth Circuit unanimously affirmed resolutions or written in protest to Attorney DEAR MR. HEDGES: This is in response to Judge Parker’s decision. General Janet Reno and other government your letter to the Department of Justice With regard to the conditions of Dr. Lee’s officials; concerning the prosecution of Wen Ho Lee. incarceration, I am advised that the limita- NOW, THEREFORE, it is resolved that the Although I am not able to comment in detail tions on visits by his family are the same as Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, New Mex- about a pending case, I hope you will find the those for others similarly-situated prisoners ico, while taking no position on the guilt or following information useful. at the facility where Dr. Lee is being held. innocence of Dr. Lee with respect to the This prosecution is based solely on the We have, however, been able to accommo- charges against him, concurs in the protest facts and the law, Dr. Lee’s Chinese heritage date the Lee family recently by arranging of the conditions of detention of Dr. Wen Ho and ancestry played no role whatsoover in for a Mandarin language interpreter to be Lee as cruel and overly harsh and is alarmed

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22428 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 by the denial of Dr. Lee’s civil libraries and prove he had sent them seeking a job. The The recriminations have only just begun. rights to due process; letters were written to Australia, France, Stung by the judge’s criticism and by a re- FURTHER, the Unitarian Church of Los buke from , Attorney General Alamos, New Mexico, calls upon the govern- Singapore, and Switzerland. Initially the felony charge against Wen Ho Janet Reno is likely to order an internal in- ment of the United States of America imme- quiry into what went wrong—a probe that diately to institute humane treatment of Dr. Lee was based on intent to harm the U.S. and could prove distinctly uncomfortable to Lee and to seek from the Court pre-trial re- to aid a foreign power. Reno herself, FBI Director and lease of Dr. Lee under conditions that re- Later, the prosecutor’s case was based on other senior officials. But even as they ac- spect his human dignity; showing Lee’s motive was to impress prospec- knowledged a badly flawed case, senior law- And it is FURTHER RESOLVED that this tive employers rather than to help China’s nu- enforcement officials insisted they were Resolution shall be printed in publications of clear program. Washington Post, September right to go after Lee in the first place. They the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, distrib- 24, 2000. say his actions raise troubling questions uted to other appropriate Unitarian Univer- Mr. Richard Krajcik, Deputy Director of the that are still unanswered. salist Association offices and congregations, As late as last Monday, has and shall be delivered to U.S. Attorney Gen- Los Alamos top-secret X Division, testified on learned, Reno and other top Justice officials eral Janet Reno and to the congressional del- August 17, 2000, and conceded the informa- nearly torpedoed the deal after Lee admitted egation from the State of New Mexico. tion that Wen Ho Lee downloaded was not for the first time that he made copies of the By September 7, 1999, the New York Times classified secret at the time he took it. AP computer tapes containing nuclear secrets wrote a long article on Chinese espionage and New Mexico, August 18, 2000. He said it had he downloaded from Los Alamos’s classified computers. Lee insisted he had destroyed all noted that secret information regarding nuclear not been reviewed for classification. Judge James A. Parker in the final court the copies along with seven original tapes design was available not only at Los Alamos the FBI never recovered and that he never but ‘‘to hundreds and perhaps thousands of in- hearing in which Wen Ho Lee was released of compromised U.S. security. But his new ad- dividuals scattered throughout the nation.’’ all 59 charges except one, said the govern- mission triggered a series of tense discus- Citing a CIA official, the New York Times ment action against Wen Ho Lee had embar- sions among top national-security officials. stated that this Wen Ho Lee case was going rassed the entire nation. Judge Parker said ‘‘People were really angry and upset,’’ said to be as ‘‘bad as the Rosenbergs.’’ that the government had led him astray. Judge one source. For a time Reno and other top All of this hysteria, I believe was deliberately Parker apologized to Dr. Lee for the unfair officials were strongly leaning toward taking programmed as a cover-up of the lack of se- manner in which he was held. the troubled case to trial anyway. The question that lies unanswered with Wen In the end, Justice officials modified the curity at the labs. deal with Lee. They gave themselves greater Wen Ho Lee being Taiwanese was an easy Ho Lee’s release is whether he in fact latitude to bring new charges against the target. downloaded the ‘‘crown jewels’’ of our nation’s scientist if they catch him lying during the Creating a climate of suspicion upon all Chi- nuclear weapons program so sensitive that it intense debriefings he must now undergo. nese is the terrible wreckage heaped by the could change the global strategic balance if ‘‘When the full story comes out,’’ said one storm on these loyal Americans. obtained by a foreign adversary. unrepentant law-enforcement official, ‘‘peo- If all that the New York Times alleged were INTO THE SUNSHINE ple are going to see that he’s not the poor true, why wasn’t Wen Ho Lee charged with little innocent he’s being made out to be.’’ (By Michael Isikoff) Maybe so, but suspicions are not what fed- espionage? Every Saturday morning Sylvia Lee and eral prosecutions are supposed to be about. The answer is obvious. There was never her children would pass through the metal What drove the Lee case was legitimate na- any evidence of espionage. detector and take their seats by the glass tional-security concerns—warped by politics. This case began in 1995 when a U.S. agent partition in the bleak room where max- The case began in 1995 when a U.S. agent in in Asia was approached by a Chinese defector imum-security prisoners meet visitors. A Asia was approached by a Chinese ‘‘walk-in’’ with a 74-page document which purported to door would open and Wen Ho Lee, diminutive defector with a sensational intelligence be a blueprint for a nuclear weapons program. and soft-spoken at 60, would shuffle in coup—a 74-page document that purported to It was 7 years old. flanked by two FBI agents. Lee’s legs were be the blueprint for modernizing China’s nu- shackled, his hands manacled and the hand- U.S. experts concluded it came from Los Al- clear-weapons program. Although it was cuffs chained to his waist. ‘‘It was just so seven years old, the document included nu- amos. Energy Department intelligence chief horrible,’’ his daughter, Alberta, says now. merous pieces of information, and some key Notra Turlock took over the investigation. By ‘‘They were treating him like an animal.’’ phrases, that suggested a massive security May 1996 he had identified 12 suspects. The Lee family time began—an hour of stilt- leak at Los Alamos. It also included a design Newsweek, September 25, 2000. ed togetherness with the FBI taking notes virtually identical to the W88, a state-of-the- By late 1998 the FBI became convinced Lee on every word. Seeing her father in chains, art thermonuclear warhead built for U.S. was probably not their target. Newsweek.—By and knowing he was being held in complete missile subs. While skeptics suggested the 1999 the political climate however changed isolation, frequently reduced Alberta to document may have been a plant by Chinese and people were hot after finding a spy. tears. Reading was one of his only escapes, intelligence, some U.S. experts were con- Newsweek states in its article of September and every week she brought him something vinced that much of the information had in- new. His favorite was the novel by Gabriel 25, 2000, that Energy Secretary Bill Richard- deed been stolen from Los Alamos. One of Garcı´a Ma´ rquez: ‘‘One Hundred Years of Soli- them was Energy Department counter-intel- son called FBI Director Freeh and urged they tude.’’ ligence chief Notra Trulock, who took over accelerate Wen Ho Lee’s investigation. Wen Ho Lee’s term of solitude ended last the W88 probe, code-named Kindred Spirit. Wen Ho Lee had engaged in a pattern of week in the collapse of the most highly pub- By May 1996 his team of spy-hunters, work- deceit. licized espionage case since the arrest of Al- ing with the FBI, had identified 12 suspects— Dr. Robert A. Messemer, an FBI agent, ad- drich Ames—a negotiated guilty plea on one with Wen Ho Lee at the top of the list. mitted on August 17, 2000, at a December count of mishandling classified information. Born in Taiwan and educated at Texas 1999 bail hearing for Wen Ho Lee, that he had The plea bargain stripped any remaining A&M, where he got his doctorate in mechan- misstated the testimony of a co-worker, Kuok- credibility from the hopelessly botched fed- ical engineering, Lee joined the staff at Los eral investigation of alleged Chinese spying Mee Ling, suggesting that Wen Ho Lee had Alamos in 1978. He worked in the X Division, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and which designs U.S. bombs and warheads, as a misled him in getting permission to use his it humiliated the FBI. It also infuriated U.S. midlevel scientist specializing in the com- computer. In fact, there was no deception. district Judge James A. Parker, who said he puter simulation of shock waves generated Dr. Messemer also testified in August 2000 had been ‘‘misled’’ into treating Wen Ho Lee by nuclear blasts. Crucially, he was on the that he failed to tell the Judge in December as a dangerous spy. Calling Lee’s imprison- team that designed the trigger for the W88 1999, that Dr. Lee had disclosed contracts ment ‘‘draconian’’ and ‘‘unfair’’ Parker exco- warhead. Still, there was no hard evidence with Chinese scientists in his 1986 trip to riated ‘‘top decision makers’’ at the Depart- that Lee had engaged in any form of espio- China. ment of Justice and the Energy Department nage. By late 1998 the FBI’s Albuquerque, Dr. Messemer had failed to tell the court in who, according to Parker, had ‘‘embarrassed N.M., field office became convinced that Lee December 1999, that Wen Ho Lee had told our nation.’’ Lee and his lawyers claimed he was probably not their target and noted that had been targeted for investigation because hundreds of other people, including outside the FBI in March 5, 1999, that he received he is Chinese, and critics charged that the contractors, needed to be examined. various correspondence from Chinese sci- FBI and the Energy Department had engaged By then the political climate had changed. entists. in a new form of racial profiling. The Clinton Trulock had testified in secret before a con- Nor did Dr. Messemer tell the court that the administration, it seemed, had a bad case of gressional committee investigating tech- letters the FBI found in Dr. Lee’s home did not cold-war paranoia. nology transfers to China headed by GOP

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 October 12, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE 22429 Rep. Chris Cox. Republicans had already FBI AGENT RECANTS TESTIMONY AGAINST LOS The treatment of Dr. Wen Ho Lee remains pummeled the Clinton White House over ALAMOS SCIENTIST LEE a cause for concern. Asian-Americans, mem- Asian campaign contributions, and top ad- (August 18, 2000; Albuquerque, New Mexico) bers of racial and ethnic minority groups, civil ministration officials feared a new China An FBI agent has recanted testimony that libertarians, and other Americans have cor- scandal. In December 1998, Newsweek has was key to a judge’s decision to deny bail learned, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson rectly questioned his treatment and continue last December to a fired nuclear weapons sci- to question the underlying racial stereotyping called FBI Director Freeh and urged him to entist accused of downloading restricted accelerate the Lee investigation. files. and racial profiling that plagued this case. In March 1999 The New York Times ran a The testimony last year from Agent Rob- Why did this happen? What were the objective front-page story pointing to an unnamed ert Messemer had portrayed Wen Ho Lee as and neutral criteria used to bring these ‘‘computer scientist’’ at Los Alamos as a key guileful when the jailed Los Alamos lab charges? Why was he held in solitary confine- figure in a probe of Chinese espionage. The physicist supposedly told a colleague he next day the FBI interrogated Lee and tried ment, unable to exercise, prohibited from wanted to use that scientist’s computer to to extract a confession. Waving the news- speaking Chinese to his family, and subjected print a resume. paper story, agents warned Lee he faced the At a bail review hearing Thursday, to extraordinary conditions of confinement? loss of his job and pension and that he was Messemer acknowledge that Lee had told the The implications of this case go well beyond ‘‘failing’’ lie-detector tests—a statement other scientist he wished to download files. the Chinese and Asian-American community. that was at least somewhat misleading. ‘‘I ‘‘My testimony was incorrect,’’ Messemer It concerns other minority communities, racial tell the truth,’’ Lee insisted. ‘‘Do you know told U.S. District Judge James Parker. profiling in law enforcement, and stereotyping who the Rosenbergs are?’’ an agent asked. The judge had cited Lee’s ‘‘deeply trou- ‘‘You know what happened to them? They all across the country. America’s law enforce- bling’’ deceptions in denying him bail in De- ment agencies and the FBI should not be tar- electrocuted them, Wen Ho.’’ No lawyer was cember. present. The FBI agent said Thursday he did not in- geting individuals based solely on their race or Ironically, neither the FBI nor the Energy tentionally attempt to mislead the judge and ethnicity. Several years ago, after the bombing Department was aware at that point that said he did not believe it was a serious error. at the Oklahoma City Federal Building, too Wen Ho Lee had been secretly downloading The hearing, the defense’s third effort to many people were quick to blame foreigners massive amounts of X Division weapons data get Lee released on bail, was scheduled to and Arab terrorists. That tragedy reminded us for years. To do it, Lee asked to use the com- continue Friday with more questioning of of the important lesson of not jumping to con- puter of a colleague outside the X Division. Messemer. Then he typed CL=U (classified equals unclas- Lee, 60, is charged with 59 counts involving clusions. Evidently, that lesson has been for- sified) on the restricted files, allowing access downloading files from Los Alamos National gotten. from the other computer. Starting in 1993 Laboratory to unsecured computers and Rep. ROBERT UNDERWOOD, Chair of the Lee downloaded 806 megabytes of classified tape. The Taiwan-born American citizen Congressional Asian Pacific American Cau- information—about 400,000 pages. could face life in prison if convicted at trial, cus, has written to President Clinton to urge But damning as the evidence looked to na- scheduled to begin Nov. 6. the establishment of an independent, bi-par- tional-security officials in Washington, the During Messemer’s testimony Thursday, case against Lee turned out to be filled with tisan commission to investigate the handling of the FBI agent also acknowledged Lee dis- the case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee. This important holes, and prosecutors began to take hits left closed contacts with scientists from the Peo- and right. At a bail hearing in August, FBI ple’s Republic of China in a report to the lab step would help reveal the truth and help agent Robert Messemer admitted that he had about a 1986 conference he attended. depoliticize the issue. A formal Commission of earlier given false testimony, portraying Lee Messemer insisted, however, that under national stature to review these issues would as more devious than the scientist actually questioning by authorities Lee did not dis- be an important step forward. This inde- was when he asked to use his colleague’s close the full scope of those contacts. pendent Commission should have subpoena computer. Messemer called his testimony Messemer testified last year Lee initially ‘‘an honest mistake.’’ Other government sci- power. I would like to see the release of docu- told authorities only about a Christmas card ments that the defense would have used dur- entists stated that many of the nuclear se- he had gotten from one Chinese scientist. He crets Lee downloaded were publicly avail- acknowledged that Parker could have in- ing discovery in order to determine whether able—and many had a relatively low classi- ferred from that testimony Lee was lying. there were appropriate criteria used to target fication: ‘‘protect as restricted data,’’ or He also said he wanted to correct a ‘‘minor Dr. Wen Ho Lee. The Organization of Chinese PARD. point’’ in which he said Lee sent letters Americans [OCA] has also called for an inde- In late August a meeting was convened at seeking an overseas job. Messemer said pendent inquiry into how this case was inves- the Justice Department command center to Thursday the FBI had no evidence one way review where matters stood. ‘‘The case was tigated and prosecuted by Federal agencies. or the other whether the letters were sent. It is important to remind government offi- falling apart,’’ said one official. Chief pros- Los Alamos scientist Richard Krajcik, dep- ecutor George Stamboulidis was convinced uty director of a top-secret nuclear weapons cials, law enforcement agencies, and the he could still win at trial. But national-secu- division at the lab, testified that he stood by media that our nation’s underlying guarantee rity officials feared that Judge Parker would earlier statements about the seriousness of of equal and fair treatment before the law ap- allow defense lawyers to introduce some of the downloaded documents. plies to all Americans, including Chinese and the secret documents that Lee had ‘‘It represents the crown jewels of nuclear Asian Pacific Americans. Many think Dr. Lee’s downloaded. ‘‘We would have had to parade design assessment capability of the United case was influenced by biased media cov- these documents in front of the jury and the States,’’ Krajcik said. erage, political partisanship, attempts to world,’’ said Stamboulidis. Even FBI Direc- Krajcik conceded the information was not tor Freeh—who had aggressively pushed the classified as secret when Lee allegedly took scapegoat someone for the Department of En- case to begin with—was now arguing that it, but said only scientists with security ergy’s lax security procedures. Bail hearing the government should take a plea. clearances could access it. testimony by government investigators admit- Senior law-enforcement officials say the At the time, the information had not been ting erroneous statements about Dr. Lee’s ac- biggest mistake may have been the harsh reviewed for classification. The information tions are particularly troubling. As a nation, we conditions under which Lee was held—the has since been classified as confidential re- can and must do better. solitary cell, the leg irons, the 24-hour stricted data and secret restricted data, but I look forward to the establishment of an not top secret. watch. Top Justice officials now say they independent Commission and the results of had some concerns about this from the be- Defense attorney John Cline read descrip- ginning but didn’t convey them strongly tions of classification levels, which define the Commission’s fact finding mission. Re- enough to the original prosecution team. ‘‘If top-secret information as vital to national gardless of these findings, we must keep in there was a failure, the higher-ups at Justice security and whose dissemination would mind the lessons of the Oklahoma bombing weren’t really forceful enough in speaking cause ‘‘exceptionally great damage.’’ Secret and recognize that racial profiling and stereo- up,’’ said one official. ‘‘That’s a legitimate information does not reveal critical features. typing are unfair and may violate our civil criticism.’’ When Stamboulidis came in to Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank rights. We must work to ensure that the prin- take over the case in June, he eased the Congresswoman MINK for organizing this im- ciples of innocent until proven guilty and due treatment of Lee and ordered the leg irons portant Special Order and commend Con- process are more than mere rhetoric. We taken off. But by then it was too late. The image of Lee, a gentle scientist being mis- gressman UNDERWOOD, Chair of the Congres- must ensure they remain core American val- treated by the government, had made its sional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the ues protecting all Americans. way into the public mind. As a symbol of other Members of the Caucus for their leader- In closing, I want to thank Congresswoman overzealous prosecution, it could well stay ship and hard work to focus attention on these MINK for organizing this Special Order and there for some time to come. important civil rights issues. highlighting these important issues.

VerDate jul 14 2003 10:45 Jan 05, 2005 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 0688 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\H12OC0.002 H12OC0 22430 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE October 12, 2000 Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to they now pay more into the Social Se- tion was passed to reduce benefits and express my concerns about the unjust treat- curity tax than they do in the income increase taxes. And that is why it is so ment and confinement of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, a tax, and certainly for our kids, our very important that we deal with this former Los Alamos scientist. grandkids, those kids that are not born problem now, we do not delay, we do Dr. Wen Ho Lee was arrested by the FBI on yet, is Social Security going to be not put it off. The longer we put off December 10, 1999, when a grand jury issued there for them. this problem, the more drastic the a 59-count indictment charging him with steal- Let me start with my first chart. I changes are going to have to be. So I ing nuclear secrets from a classified Los Ala- would like to thank Senator ROD think it is very important that we deal mos computer. U.S. District Judge James GRAMS from Minnesota. He has intro- with this very important program as Parker denied bail for Dr. Lee, citing seven duced legislation to keep Social Secu- soon as we can. missing computer tapes of nuclear secrets and rity solvent, as I have. I have been Some have said, well, these are just the possibility that his release could harm U.S. chairing the bipartisan Social Security people’s estimates of the future. Not national security. Dr. Lee was held in solitary Task Force of the Committee on the so. Insolvency is an absolute. Insol- confinement for the following nine months and Budget and, so, we have been working vency is certain. We know how many shackled whenever he was outside of his cell. on Social Security for the last 5 years people there are and we know when Dr. Lee’s confinement was clearly unneces- trying to get public attention to the they are going to retire. We count the sary. He had not been convicted of any crime fact that Social Security is insolvent people. We know what their ages are. and was considered innocent under the law and eventually there is going to be less We know what their earning is, how throughout his confinement. On August 17, money coming in than is required for much they are paying in. We know that 2000, FBI agent Robert Messemer admitted benefits and the challenge facing this people will live longer in retirement. that he gave false testimony against Dr. Lee country if we are going to make a com- When Social Security started in 1935, at his bail hearing the previous December. mitment not to reduce benefits, and we the average age of death was 62 years. Furthermore, on September 10, 2000, the De- should do that, not to increase taxes For this pay-as-you-go program, that partment of Justice announced that Dr. Lee even further on workers in this coun- meant most people paid in all their would go free after pleading guilty to just one try, and we should do that. lives but never took anything out. It of the original 59 felony counts against him. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt cre- worked very well. But now the life span All other counts against him were dropped. ated the Social Security program over of individuals has been increasing sub- When the Executive Branch agreed to release 6 decades ago, he wanted it to feature stantially. We know how much these him without any conditions, it became appar- a private sector component to build re- individuals will pay in, how much they ent that it had never been necessary to con- tirement income. Social Security was will take out. The payroll taxes will fine him. supposed to be one leg of a three-legged not cover benefits starting in 2015. And We will never know the reasons why the stool to support retirees. It was sup- the shortfalls will add up to $120 tril- Federal Government confined Dr. Lee and posed to go hand-in-hand with personal lion between 2015 and 2075. treated him so harshly. The plea agreement savings and private pension plans. So, in tomorrow’s dollars, in those reached by Dr. Lee and the Department of In fact, it is interesting, looking up inflated dollars, it is going to take $120 Justice shields the Executive Branch from dis- and researching in the archives in 1935, trillion more than the tax revenue closing information that might have provided the Senate on two occasions voted that coming in from the Social Security tax an explanation. private personal investments should be to pay benefits. Dr. Lee’s unjust confinement and the cruelty an option to the Government handling I suspect most of us do not know how of the conditions under which he was confined the system. When it finally went to the much really a trillion dollars is. I cer- are a disgrace to the FBI, the Department of conference committee between the tainly do not. But you can compare it Justice and the entire nation. No American cit- House and the Senate, it turned around maybe with our annual budget, which izen should ever be unnecessarily confined by strictly to a Government-run program, now is approximately $1.8 trillion an- the U.S. Government. I am deeply sorry about a pay-as-you-go program where current nual budget. It is a huge challenge. the unjust treatment Dr. Lee received, and I workers pay in their taxes and imme- And that is why it has been so easy for urge my colleagues to work diligently to en- diately it goes out to current retirees. this Chamber and the Senate and the sure that no other citizen will ever be forced This is Barry Pump, an intern that is President not to take action on it. It is to endure this type of treatment. going to be helping me, from Iowa. So too easy to demagogue. And with this GENERAL LEAVE our intern program is an excellent op- Chamber running for election every 2 Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I portunity for juniors in high school. years, it is easy to put it off. We can- ask unanimous consent that all Mem- So, Barry, thank you very much. not do that any more. It is not fair to bers may have 5 legislative days within The system really is now stretched to our kids. It is not fair to our grand which to revise and extend their re- its limits. Seventy-eight million baby kids. Our pay-as-you-go retirement marks on my special order tonight. boomers begin retiring in 2008. That system will not meet the challenge of The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. means they go out of the, if you will, demographic change. MICA). Is there objection to the request paying in mode, paying their Social Se- This is an example of workers per So- of the gentlewoman from Hawaii? curity taxes, to the taking out mode. cial Security beneficiary. Back in 1940, There was no objection. And these baby boomers are at the there were 38 workers in this country f high end of the income scale, so they paying in their Social Security tax for pay a much higher tax since our tax every one retiree. Now there are three SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENCY now is 12.4 percent on the first $76,000. workers paying in their increased So- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under Social Security expending exceeds tax cial Security tax for every one retiree. the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- revenues in 2015, and so the problem is And by 2025 there is going to be two uary 6, 1999, the gentleman from Michi- where do we start getting the extra workers paying in their Social Secu- gan (Mr. SMITH) is recognized for 60 money starting in 2015. rity tax for every one retiree. minutes. The bottom blip is Social Security This was developed because of demo- Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speak- trust funds go broke in 2037, although graphic changes. One is the falling er, to whoever might be looking at this the crisis could arrive much sooner. birth rate after the baby boomers after session, this is going to be sort of a And the crisis is trying to come up World War II. So the number of work- briefing on Social Security. with that money. The danger histori- ers has not increased at the rate it was Social Security has come to the fore- cally as we look at what has happened in the past. And secondly, the life span front of one of the very important through history, politicians in Wash- is tremendously increased. So if you issues in this Presidential debate, cer- ington and the President, for example, reach retirement age, 65, then on aver- tainly with every senior, certainly also in 1997 and again in 1983, when money age you are going to live another 18 to with every worker in this country as was short to pay out benefits, legisla- 20 years. So life span is going up, the

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